Her Scars
by Tsukiko-Chama
Summary: Ryuka Cross is found in the underground parts of the DWMA by Death the Kid, whom is quickly falling for her. Little does he know that she is actually Professor Stein's daughter. Stien X OC. Kid X OC. THIS IS NOT YAOI!
1. Gashed

Chapter 1: Gashed

Death the Kid's POV

I had spent almost 8 hours in the underground parts of the academy just fixing staues. Fine. it It probably wasn't really 8 whole hours, but just saying it made me feel better. I knew it was around time for me to head home. I walked down the center of the dingy grey hallway, heading back towards the main hall. Then there was a loud, high-pitched scream. Like a girl. A girl who had just been hurt. I looked over my shoulder towards where the noise came from. Who was that? I thought I was the only person down here. I faced my entire body towards that direction. Then for an unknown reason, I began to race towards the sound.

Ryuka's POV

Pain screamed from my left side. I let out another cry of agony as the wound throbbed harshly. Blood pooled beside the injury on the grey tiled floor. Tears were flowing senselessly down my face. Oh my God, that hurt like hell. The image of that man flashed through my mind again. His body was wrapped in scarves. I let out another scream as my loss of blood darkend my vision.

Death the Kid's POV

Two more cries swam from the end of the hall. They were getting weaker with each one. I had to get to whoever was down there, before it was too late. I quikenend my pace until I came to heavy steel door embedded in the stone. In all the years that I been exploring these tunnels, I hadn't once come across this door. I pressed my shoulder against the steel contraption and pushed in order to pry it open. As the door swung open absently, I saw an unfamiliar girl around my age lying on the ground towards the corner of the room. Blood pooled thickly around her left side, staining the floor and exposed parts of her skin a deep scarlet. Her hair was a slick black, that is until it reached her shoulders. Then it faded into an electric silver until it stoped at the small of her back. She had pointed, chopy black bangs that stoped a little bit above her eyes. She was wearing a black dress that stoped at her knees and concealed all other parts of her body, aside from the chunk of cloth ripped from around her one thing struck me off more than anything else. She couldn't have been a student here. if she was, she'd have her student identification card on her person. Plus I wouldn't forget a face like hers. I squatted down beside her limp body before looking over my shoulder. Nobody else was down here. I gentally slipped one arm behind her back and the other behind the both of her knees. I stood back up, holding the girl in my arms and resting her head on my neck. "Nobody may know you," I sighed outloud, " But you still need help." I turned back towards the exit. Maybe Professor Stein would know what to do.

Stein's POV

I sat down at the corner of the room with my arms laying on the front of my stiched rolling chair. The infirmary had been empty all day long, meaning that Black*Star had decided not to pick any fights today. Thankfull though, it was doctor Medusa's day off, so I could actually think strait. I just couldn't grasp any logical reasoning why a whitch like her would wasnt to infultrait the DWMA. What would she want with the students here anyway? Was she planning anything? Or just spying? Did a plan have anything to do with the demon sword? 'Ung,' I thought, turning back my screw in protest,' Even when she isnt here, I still couldn't think strait.'Then there was an urgent knocking on the door, "PROFESSOR STIEN!"I knew that voice,"What is it, Kid?""OPEN THE DOOR!" He was breathing awfully hard," IT'S URGENT!"I launched off of the wall in my rolling chair towards the door so I could open it. Once the door was open, he came in and sat a fammiliar fifteen-year-old girl and the white bed." I found her in the underground parts of the academy. I know that she isn't a student here, but she deserves help." He ran his fingers through a few strands of her hair,"Besides, it's not like we can't question her later."I nodded and rolled closer, examining the wound in her side. "Alright, Kid. I can take care of her from here. It's getting late, so you should head home," he looked at me as if he wanted to protest," Don't worry about her. She's going to be fine. Hey, even if you want, I'll let you come bye and talk to her before school, okay?"Kid noddeed," Okay, I'll see you tomorow, Professor Stein," he still looked shaken as he exited the room."Later, Kid," I sighed turning back to face Ryuka's limp body on the bed. Why had she let somebody find her? What the hell happened to her side? I focused on her pale face, analizing every detail before saying her name, "Ryuka..." No response. "Ryuka, I have to know that your alright. For my sake, please, wake up," She exhaled heavily but still didn't respond. I sighed. I had hoped that it wouldn't come to this, but I had been left with no other option. I leaned forward, pressing my cool forehead to her pale, sweat-soaked one. I had forgotten how long we'd been doing this, but tappinig into her mind was my last resort. 'Ryuka,' me voice pooled easily into her mind, 'wake up, now.'Her golden-olive eyes opened and stared deeply into mind. They were wide, as if she expected to see someone else. She parted her thin, pale lips and let a single strangled word escape them,"P-Papa?"

-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-

Stein's POV

"P-Papa?" Her voice choked out, as she stared into my eyes. I sat up a little, relaxing at the sound of her voice and running my fingers lightly through her hair. "Girl, it's like you hunt trouble down."She smiled that famous half smile of hers. The one her mother always gave me," I'm telling you, it's like it just finds me." Then she winced and looked down at her side injury," Ow."I sighed and took a closer look at the gash that deeply marred her pale skin. The bleeding may have stoped, but it was hard to tell with this cloth surrounding it. I grabbed a small pair of sissors and carefully cut away the black cloth. I rolled over to the cabinent and looked throught the drawers for some bandages and anticeptic. "So, how'd you get go sliced up there?" I asked, rolling back over to her closed her eyes and tried to relax her body," If I told you, you'd never believe me."I shook my head and focused my eyes to prove to her that I was compleatly serious,"Try me.""There was this man," her eyes reopened and revealed how frightening the being that that gash came from," He wore a red and blck pinstripe suit and was wrapped in scarves." Her eyes closed again. 'The kishin? No, that can't possibly be it.' I thought as i began to put the disenfectant paste on the wound. Her eyes snaped open and immediatly grew wider than I'd seen them in years. She closed her eyes tightly and griped the sheet beside her, tossing her head to the side as she did so. She ground her teeth together, forcing back cries of pain."Dad...Dad..." Tears began to roll down her cheeks, "DAD! THAT HURTS!"I stopped and leaned back, allowing her eyes to meet mine. "It won't hurt once I patch you up the rest of the way." I gave her an assuring smile. She weekly forced a smile back before bracing herself for the pain to come.

Ryuka's POV

I ground my teeth in order to force back screams of agony. That almost hurt worse than when I actually got the gash, and it was so deep. It seemed endless as her put on the anticeptic and bandaged around my middle. Then finally I felt his icy hands move away. "Okay, now do you min explaining to me why you let yourself get found?"I forced myself to sit up, " I was about to die, Dad. I was hoping that someone would find me to prevent you finding me dead when you came to retrive me this evening."He nodded, " Reasonable enough, I guess. Only one slight problem, considering the fact that your a young teenage meister, Lord Death will probably take interest in you and want you enrolled. I will mostlikely have to enroll you in this academy."I smiled, "This could be an excellent oppurtunity for me. To become a better meister, I mean.""Just one thing concerns me," He pulled a cigarette put of his pocket and lit it.I tilted my head to the side, " How so?""I'm not to sure about how you'll be treated if people know that your my daughter.""Oh," My head slumped forward slightly, "Alright.""Ryuka, " He breathed out smoke and then placed the sourse back into his mouth," If you were to be enrolled, I would have to lie on the papers."" Well damn," I sighed, floping back down onto the bed, "What are we supposed to say?"" Ah, lets see here, " He rolled back and clicked the screw backwards slowly, thinking of an awnser," You can take your mother's last name. You recently moved to Death City. You ran away from home and took a particular intrest in the way the school was set up, so you decided to explore the underground parts of it and hoped to eventually enroll. Sound good?" "I guess that's pretty well figured and made up. But my name is what now?"He smirked, twirling the cigarette between his fingers, " Easy, Ryuka Cross."I looked at hime closely," Ryuka, Cross?""Yeah, Your mother's last name is Cross. Sanguine Cross, the finest Death-Scythe to graduate from the academy in my opionion.""Ok, Da- Professor Stein.""Good. Now, I'll be by in the morning with your bag of clothes," he turned in the chair and stood to leave. He had his hand on the knob before he turned to face me again," Oh, I almost forgot. Ryuka, tomorow morning, one of the students of the academy will be here around 8 o'clock to talk to you. He's Lord Death's son, Death the Kid, He's the one that saved you."

A/N: Okay, so that is the first chapter of Her Scars . I hope you liked it. I got the idea in a dream and it just sort of turned into it's own thing. So yeah, Stein has a daughter with his former partner, and death scythe, Sanguine Cross. And Kid? Well he plays a very important roll later in the story about how he associates with Ryuka. So please review, I want to know your thoughts on my first piece of fanfic work. I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER, JUST SANGUINE CROSS AND RYUKA CROSS-STEIN. I'll try to update as often as I possibly can because this story is going to go far. See you all in the next Chapter!


	2. Deepening

Chapter 2: Deepening

Death the Kid's POV

I stood inside my bathroom, staring at my reflection. "Disgusting," I muttered, poking at the stripes in my hair. No matter how much dye I used, they kept coming back.

Then there was a loud banging at the door. "Kid! You've been in there for twenty minutes! Let me in! I need to do my hair!" Liz whined from outside the door.

I felt a slight grin spread across my face, "Okay, Liz."

I opened the door, allowing a slightly irritated Liz to walk into the bathroom and plug in her Chi brand flat-iron. "What's up with you, Kid? Ever since you got home last night you've been acting strange. You showed up late. You seemed worried about something and couldn't sleep last night. Now, your taking longer than eight minutes in the bathroom to get ready for school. Is something wrong?"

I shook my head, "It's nothing. I'll see you at school, okay Liz?"

She nodded but still looked worried and slightly confused. I quickly exited the house and began to walk towards the academy. I felt like I really needed to talk to that girl.

Ryuka's POV

I lie on my back and stared at the ceiling, analyzing each individual crack that lined it. Professor Stein had brought my clothes by earlier and they now rested under my bed in my small grey and black school bag. I had changed out of the black dress and into long grey pajama bottoms and a long sleeved button down to p that had matched. I was doing my best to That guy was supposed to be here at around eight, so where was he? Then there was a light knock on the door, causing me to jump. I was the only person in the room. "Ummm….. Who is it?" I asked, pulling the covers up to surround my shoulders.

"It's Death the Kid," His silky voice drifted underneath the door, "May I come in?"

I pulled my covers up to my nose, "Ummm…..Sure."

The door opened revealing a boy that appeared to be around sixteen. He had even black hair, besides the three white stripes on the right side of his hair. He wore shiny black shoes, black dress pants, and a jacket over a white dress shirt, the jacket had a few white stripe symmetrically down the front and on the tops of the sleeves. A silver death city skull pin was clipped to the top part at the center of his collar. His eyes were a sharpened golden color and he was death-pale. He may have been taller than me, but only by an inch or two.

"Hello," he wasn't quite smiling, but it wasn't a frown either. He wore a kind of half smirk.

"Hi," I sat up so that I could see a little better, "I'm Ryuka Cross. Nice to meet you!" I reached out my hand, offering to shake his.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Death the Kid's POV

She smiled. That was an angel's smile. Her eyes, those strange olive-gold eyes, I knew those eyes, but where from? "I'm Ryuka Cross. Nice to meet you!" She offered her hand, I shook it. She had cool palms. The coolness of her skin was familiar too. I had never met this girl, so why was she so damn familiar? I just couldn't seem to place it.

"Nice to meet you, Ryuka," I sat down lightly at the foot of her bed, "Would you mind if I asked you a few questions?"

Ryuka's POV

Nervousness immediately gathered in my stomach. Question? What the hell could he possibly want to know about me?

I focused on swallowing my nervousness, and turning it into a smile, "Not at all." This was the perfect chance to see if I was believable or not. I attempted to relax the tension swelling throughout my body. I needed to look honest. Then I began to prepare for any type of question.

Death the Kid's POV

She looked so tense as soon as the words slipped off of my tongue. She said that she didn't mind, but was she going to be uncomfortable answering questions for me? She seemed less confidant now than she had earlier.

"Okay," I smiled, trying to seem less like a prying stalker, "First question: How did you manage to get into the underground parts of the academy?"

Her weak smile faded, "Ever since I arrived in Death City, I've had an interest in this school. I was walking around the perimeter of it and found a hatch leading underground. I got curios and decided to do some exploring."

Lie. I picked that up like a lie detector. There were no hatches that led underground. But I couldn't let her see that I knew that. "Next question: How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Where are you parents?"

"I don't want to talk about them if you don't mind. I ran away two years ago just to get away from them."

Lie. That second one was a lie.

"Do you have any interest in enrolling here?" I asked. I hoped she said yes. She'd be in my class if she did.

She nodded, "Yes." "Okay, I just have one more question." "Okay," She half smiled. I felt butterflies build in my stomach, "Sure."

"Where are you going to stay after the enrollment papers are filled out and you start classes?"

That half smile disappeared again and was replaced by a focused thinking face, "Ummm….I think I'll just stay here, living at the academy. Professor Stein said that could be done."

"No. Absolutely not. I forbid it."

Her head tilted to the side, "Um, what?"

My hand slapped over my mouth. Damn it, I was thinking out loud again.

"Uhhhh…." I felt myself begin to blush harshly, "what I meant was, if you want, I've got an extra room at my place. You could stay with me. No! I mean not with me, but in my house with your own room and such."

Why the hell did I just do that? Idiot! Now I've probably freaked her out! Damn it! I'm so stupid!

"Ummm…." her face was only a slight pink, "That sounds nice."

"Okay ,I understand- WAIT! Did you just say yes?"

She nodded her head once. I smiled, "Okay, once you start classes and your all healed, I'll walk you over. Sound Good?"

She nodded, "Okay, um…."

"Kid. You can call me Kid." I helped her fill in the blank.

"Okay, Kid!" She smiled that heart fluttering smile, "See you later!"

"Bye," I gave her a polite smile before walking out the door. It was so obvious that I liked her, but did she feel the same way?"

Ryuka's POV

What was that? I thought as the door clicked closed behind him. Death the Kid. The boy that saved me. The boy that blushed deep red right in front of me. The boy I'd only known for and hour. The boy that was Lord Death's son. And the boy that I had an enormous crush on.

I blushed an even deeper shade of red before lying back down on my side and drifting off to sleep.

Ryuka in her dream…

My eyes flew open to the sound of my father's voice. "Ryuka…..Ryuka…..RYUKA!"

My head came off of the cold metal desk in front of me. "Ung, I'm sorry professor."

"Please make a more determined effort to not fall asleep in my class again."

I nodded wearily, "Yes sir." but I was just so tired it was hard to keep my eyes open. This wasn't him. There was no way that the man at the front of the room was my father. To my left sat my mother. To my right sat Kid. The both held blank expressions as they faced the front of the room.

"Kid?" he didn't look at me. "Mom?" She didn't look either. "What's wrong with you guys?"

"RYUKA!"

My eyes snapped back to the front of the room. "I'm sorry." I stayed focused on the front of the room for a few moments before looking back to Kid and my mother.

"Kid?" His golden eyes managed a glare at me, "Kid, what's going on?"

"You lied to me. I was your friend, I let you live with me. I _saved_ you. And you still lied."

"Kid, I-"

"Didn't you ever wonder why I left?" My mothers voice cut me like a razor blade, "I knew that you could never tell me the truth."

"Mom-"

My father suddenly stood directly in front of me, "Remember, they can't know who you are. Stein's face twisted into a wicked grin.

My hands flew over my ears, "STOP!" I shouted, trying to block out their voices. "GET THE HELL OUT OF MY HEAD!" Tears were streaming down my cheeks, "STOP!"

Ryuka's POV\

I lurched upright in bed, breathing hard, tears streaking my face. Liar, I was a liar. I pulled my knees up to my chest and began to sob. This was awful. I couldn't even breathe. I wiped my eyes. This could only go on for so much longer.

A/N: Yay! Chapter 2 in finally finished! I know it seems like I posted really fast. I have the first seven chapters already written so they'll probably all be posted within the next to weeks, but afterwards the posts won't be quite as hasty so I'm working on it. I can't stress enough over how much I love being reviewed. So if you have time, please just do it. We actually got both some fluffyness and some creepyness in this chapter. Plus we got just a sliver of Sanguine. In the next chapter it's Ryuka's first day of class. It'll be exiting. See you all in the next chapter!


	3. First Day

Chapter 3: First Day

Stein's POV

Ryuka sat at the corner of the bed that she'd been sleeping in for the past week. Now she wore the outfit that would be her school outfit. A long-sleeved white dress shirt with grey pinstripes, a black skinny tie, a short pleated black skirt with grey leggings underneath, and black combat boots that went halfway up her shin. She had on a black ribbon for a choker and a bracelet on each wrist that matched. The only part of her that made her seem un-ready for school was the fact that she had dark circles lining the underside of her olive-gold eyes. Unfortunately, since both her mother and I both had it, she had begun to develop sleep depravation at the age of ten, but those circles didn't show unless something was bothering her. So what could be there that would cause that?

I knew that Kid had been coming by in both the mornings and the afternoons, but was he the one triggering her trouble? No, of course not, Kid couldn't do something like that, could he?

"Ryuka?" she looked up at me, coming out of her daze, "is something wrong?"

"Oh, no," she rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands, "I'm just a little tired, that's all."

I had enrolled her into the academy just a few days ago and today she was healed and felt like starting school today. Then she looked over at the clock.

"Hey, class is going to start soon, I better get going," She smiled and stood up, tossing her bag over he shoulder. She gave me a kiss on the cheek, "Bye daddy!" She smiled at me and walked out the door. I had the feeling that today would be rather interesting.

Ryuka's POV

I roamed the crowded halls looking for a familiar boy with black hair, except for those cute white stripes. Ah, there he was. He stood between two girls. A taller one with long strait brown hair, and a shorter one with short blonde hair. He was in a good sized crowd of students.

"Kid! Hey, Kid!"

Death the Kid's POV

I turned to the sound of a familiar voice calling my name. It was Ryuka.

"Hey, You starting classes today?" I asked

She smiled that usual half smile that sent butterflies to my insides, then nodded, "Oh, yeah. Lord Death approved of my application a few days ago, and Professor Stein said that I was healed up enough to start classes today."

Everyone in the circle was looking at the both of us curiously, waiting for me to introduce my new friend.

"Oh, This is Ryuka." I said, turning to face everyone.

I turned back to face her, "Ryuka, this is Liz and Patty Thompson, my weapon partners," I said gesturing towards Liz and Patty. Liz gave her a smile and Patty waved excitedly. "This is Maka and Soul," Soul gave her a shark toothed grin and Maka wave politely. "And this is Tsubaki and Black*Star," Tsubaki smiled gently and then Black*Star decided Ryuka was getting to much attention.

"Alright now, Let's not forget that nobody is a bigger star than me! YAHOO!"

Ryuka's POV

Wow. Yahoo? Who says that any more? And what the hell is this guy's problem anyway? I could tell out of all these people, this would bet the guy that I didn't get along with. He had so many friends, could someone like me ever even fit into this crowd?

"So Ryuka," The girl called Maka started, bring me out of my cloud of thoughts, " Who's your weapon partner, or are you a weapon?"

"Oh, I don't have one yet. I'm a meister, but Professor Stein says that partner assignments take time to be arranged."

"We've got a few weapons without meisters," That was the fluffy white headed boy called Soul, "Maybe you could be assigned to one of them soon."

I shrugged and then smiled my usual half smile. Then the bell rang.

" Time for class," Kid sighed. Then he turned and looked at me, " Which class are you in?"

"Class Crescent Moon," I sighed, "Do you know which one that is?"

"That's the same class that I'm in," For some reason, I felt relief flood over me, "Come on, I'll walk you there." Then he and I began to walk together down the hall.

Death the Kid's POV

Was it a requirement that class get more and more boring every day? Written exams were over and all we were doing was reviewing the same damn material that we had been doing for everyday. Nothing new.

I looked to my left. Patty lay snoring with a nose bubble inflating and deflating steadily. Liz was painting her nails and electric purple color. Maka had her nose in a book (as usual). Soul was staring blankly at the ceiling.

I looked towards Ryuka, Who was to my direct right with Tsubaki on the other side of her. The was scratching down notes like some sort of machine.

"Um…Ryuka?" Tsubaki asked, poking at the notes, "You know that this is just a review, Right?"

Ryuka's eyes never left the page as she answered, " Yeah, I know. But I don't know any of this stuff."

Tsubaki giggled, giving her a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll catch on eventually."

"Damn it…." Ryuka growled, " Can he talk just a little louder and a little slower? I'm starting to miss things."

I couldn't help but smile. She was so cute when she was frustrated. When it came to class, she was almost as bad as Maka.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Ryuka's POV

I slid my tray onto the table in between Tsubaki and Kid. My school bag had gotten heavier with all of my knew notes.

"Hey, Soul," Tsubaki was looking around the table, "Have you seen Black*Star?"

He shook his head, fluffy hair going back and forth, "Not since we got out of class."

Tsubaki sighed and slammed he head into the table.

"What's wrong, Tsubaki?" I asked, poking at the food on my black and white tray.

"It's Black*Star. Last time he went missing, he wound up on the chalk board. Who knows what-"

"YAHOO!" She was interrupted by a familiarly irritating voice

"What the hell?" I looked up to reveal Black*Star hanging up-side-down by his feet on the chandelier above us.

"Damn it," Soul growled as he got up from the table, "Not this again, So uncool."

"LOOK HERE EVERYBODY! IT'S ME, GOOD OLD BLACK*STAR! THE BIGGEST STAR IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL! YAHOO!" Then his foot slipped causing him to land in the other seat next to Tsubaki. " See everybody. Since I'm such a big star I like to make a big entrance."

I ground my teeth and stood up. I'd had enough of this. I grabbed Black*Star by the ear and began to drag him towards the girls bathroom.

Stein's POV

I sat in the library, skimming through book after book. Then Spirit came barging through the door like a madman, "STEIN!" he shouted, "I think one of you students is about to be in trouble!"

I looked up from the book in my hands lazily. I really didn't care. "What are you talking about, Spirit?"

"I just caught something about the new girl giving Black*Star a swirly!"

I smirked and kicked off of the desk I was at. This was going to be good.

Spirit was actually stupid enough to try and stop her. He walked up behind her telling her to let Black*Star go and to break it up, making no progress. Then her held her waist from behind, trying to pull he away from him."

" YOU SICK PERVERT!" She screamed grabbing Spirit by the hair. Then she threw both Spirit and Black*Star's heads into two separate toilets and flushing them. Water flew across the bathroom. After a minute she pulled them back up. "Now, what have we learned?" she asked. Neither of them said a word, so she renumbered them.

I smirked, lighting a cigarette and taking in the contents. She was so much like her mother.

A/N: LOL. Swirly! =) sorry, I'm just exited because we got out of school for snow today. So anyway, the next chapter will be out soon, Its called Exposed (I let you figure it out). So See you in the next chapter!


	4. Exposed

**Chapter 4: Exposed**

**Ryuka's POV**

**I walked down the sidewalk next to Kid, Liz and Patty were about two yards in front of us. "And everything in every room of the house is completely perfectly symmetrical, aside from both Liz and Patty's rooms. Right now your room is perfectly symmetrical, but your more than welcome to change it to your liking."**

**I smiled, I began to notice that every time I smiled he looked away blushing lightly. I thought it was kinda cute, so I did it at almost every appropriate time, "Okay."**

"**Hey, Ryuka," Kid and I both turned to face Liz after she spoke, "Do you have enough clothes? I don't mind going shopping if you don't."**

**I patted my bag, "I'm good for now, but I hear that there's a sort of evening party coming up. I don't have anything to wear to something nice like that. Maybe after I get all settled in and it gets closer to around that time, we can go shopping, just us girls." I smiled at the thought.**

"**We're Home~!" Patty sang out before racing towards the door. I smiled and followed them through the door after Kid unlocked it with a black key that had the death city skull for the handle. The twin doors were slick black and shiny. The walls inside were alabaster white and the frames on the wall were aligned with each other. Every thing in there was aligned to be perfectly symmetrical. I automatically made a mental note to ****never ever touch anything.**

"**Well," Kid smiled and looked at me, "What do you think?"**

**I smiled at him, "I like it, It's very….symmetrical. Perfectly symmetrical."**

**His smile widened, "Thanks. I figure that you want to go to your room and freshen up a bit. You know, get settled."**

"**That sounds good."**

"**Okay your room is the 7th**** one on the right. The bathroom is right across the hall from there. My room is the one right next to yours. The 8****th**** one."**

"**Okay, see you in a while," I began to walk towards one of the duel sets of stairs and was halfway up when I heard Liz say, "Wait a sec, Kid. I thought that her room was next to mine. 2****nd**** on the left. Why is she next door to you now?" She asked elbowing him in the ribs. "SHUT UP, LIZ!" I heard him shout as he started blushing and then began stamp his foot onto the black hardwood floor.**

**Later, after Ryuka's showered and it's been around an hour since the last thing happened**

**I hummed the tune to "Hot N Cold" by Katy Perry as I blow-dried my hair with Liz's black hair dryer. My Shirt lay unbuttoned on the floor behind me, along with my leggings and boots. I clicked off the hair dryer and stared at my reflection in the full length mirror. I wore only my black skirt and sports bra that matched. I felt so naked, so exposed. I starred absently at my stitches. I had three sets of them. One that went all the way around my middle and across my stomach, passing an inch over my belly button. The new ugly scar was just two inches bellow on my left side. Then I had one set on each upper arm. They were both in the same place, so if Kid ever did see he wouldn't have a fit about the symmetry. Then there was his gentle knock at the door.**

"**Ryuka, Can I come in? I left something in there and I need to get it."**

"**Can it wait?" I asked setting down the hair dryer. I already knew what a stupid question that was. Kid was so OCD that it couldn't wait.**

"**No."**

"**Okay, just a se-" But the door had already come open.**

**Death the Kid's POV**

**Okay, in my defense right here, right now. I heard her say okay, and I didn't know that she was half naked. The second I saw her I immediately blushed. She was beautiful, but then I noticed **

**She blushed heavily too, and when she saw where I was looking her upper arms, the stitches placed in a perfectly symmetrical location. And her stomach. Her beautiful stomach, despite the stitches and asymmetrical scar. So much skin. I could see so much of her beautiful skin. It would be a miracle if I could see this much of her pale body again.**

**Her hands slapped over the stitches on her arms. I stood there for another moment starring, then backed out the door and closed it. I was silent until I hit the bottom step. **

"**AAHHHHHH!" I shouted running around the living room with my arms flailed above me head.**

"**What the hell?" Liz looked up from her fashion magazine and then grabbed my arm once I ran past her, "What the hell is your problem now, Kid?" she asked, setting her magazine down and released my arm.**

"**I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!" I shouted **

"**Knew what?" Liz groaned. She obviously very annoyed.**

"**I knew that she had to have been hiding something from me." I muttered.**

**Patty popped her head up, "Who, Ryuka?"**

_**She has stitches on three different places on her body. This can only mean one thing Professor Stein is her father.**_

"**Nope. Nothing. Never mind." I turned around to go back upstairs, to bed, when Liz's voice stopped me cold, "Wow, Kid, I'm impressed."**

**I turned around to face her, "What are you talking about, Liz?"**

"**It's 8:02, and your not in bed yet."**

"**Wha-" I turned to face the clock on the wall behind me. Sure enough, it read 8:02. "GAHHHH!" the next thing I knew I was on the floor.**

**Ryuka's POV**

**I sat on my bed with my back against the wall and my knees up to my chest. Not moving, barley breathing. He knew. He knew what my dad had been telling me to keep covered. My hands were still on my arms, covering the one thing that I was told to keep hidden. I fell onto my side, exhausted and before I knew it, I was asleep.**

**In Ryuka's dream….**

**I sat on a stone cold bench, still in my bra and skirt. Kid sat next to me wearing grey skinny jeans and a black death city shirt, with his arm tossed lazily over my shoulder. I felt myself blush heavily as he pulled me closer. What the hell was this?**

"**Kid? What are you doing?"**

**He looked at me dreamily, eyes full of something that I hadn't seen there before, but I wasn't quite sure what it was. "What does it look like?"**

**He leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I accepted the kiss. I felt like this is what I wanted. What I needed. He leaned in more, until I was on my back and he was on top of me. He stopped kissing me and looked at me again. Eyes locking with mine.**

"**Did you know that I love you?" He asked. I looked at him and then sat up both back up. **

"**No, Kid. You never have," I studied him closely, "because this isn't you."**

**He looked at me quizzically, "What are you talking about?"**

"**This can't be you. I want you to love me, just like this. To kiss me, just like you did. But I lied to you. And I don't think you really feel this way about me. I'm just…"**

"**Your just?" he asked, touching my arm.**

"**No, I-" He cut me off with a slow, deep kiss. He pulled out slowly, "Stop talking, okay? Your wrong. So just stop talking." He continued to kiss me, forcing me onto my back again.**

**Ryuka's POV**

**I opened my eyes to a knocking on the door. My face was hot.**

"**W-Who is it?" My voice was shaken. What kind of a dream was that?**

"**It's me," Kid's voice came wide awake from through the door, "Ryuka, I think we need to talk."**

**SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER**

**Death the Kid's POV**

"**I think we need to talk," I said from outside her door. It was around midnight and I couldn't sleep. After I came to from me passing out, I remembered and couldn't sleep at all. From her voice, I could tell she had just woken up.**

**I sat my hand on the knob, "Please, Ryuka, let me in."**

"**Kid, I said to-"**

"**Please," I sat my head on the door, "I want to talk about this."**

**I heard her get up. I pulled my head from the door and released the knob. She opened the door just a crack, so she could look at me, "Kid," she locked eyes with me, "Can I trust you?"**

**I nodded, "Of course, Ryuka."**

**Her olive green eyes, Stein's eyes, looked into mine for a few more moments before opening the door the rest of the way. She turned at sat down lightly on her bed. Her cheeks were pink, like a blush was falling off of her face, but why?**

**Then I followed her through the dark room, towards the bed.**

**Ryuka's POV**

**Kid sat down next to me lightly. My face still felt warm from the dream. It just wouldn't get the hell out of my head. I was still starring at the ground, my head was almost going in circles.**

"**Ryuka," I looked up at him, "Why didn't you tell me?"**

"**My dad said," I was on the verge of crying, "He told me that he didn't want people to know about me because…" I stopped. Tears lined my face.**

"**Why, Ryuka? It's okay to tell me," he held me close to try and stop my tears.**

"**Because I was born on accident."**

**Death the Kid's POV**

"**Ryuka where did you get the last name "Cross" from?" I asked. Her head was still on my shoulder. She had stopped crying, but she hadn't moved.**

"**My mother's last name is Cross."**

"**Who's your mother?" I asked. I knew bunches of people with the last name Cross.**

"**Sanguine Cross."**

**No, not The Sanguine Cross. Not the "Bloody Sword" that was the Death Scythe in west Asia. She couldn't be serious.**

"**Ryuka, is your mom the Death Scythe working in west Asia right now?"**

"**Yeah," she moved her head off my shoulder, "How did you know that?"**

"**Oh, I met her once. She's a Death Scythe after all. My father calls her here every once in a while. Didn't your father train her?"**

**She smiled, "Yeah. She became a Death Scythe when they were both 19. I was born later that year. Nobody knew except her and my father. Because it was accidental and a secret." **

**She looked down at the floor again. "Hey," she looked back up at me, "I won't tell anyone. Not even Liz and Patty. It's your secret not mine. They don't need to know." My hand went atop hers. **

"**No, I'm going to finally come clean and just tell everybody. I'm so sick of lying."**

**Ryuka's POV**

**We lie down facing to each other on the bed. He was already asleep. I didn't know how long we had been talking, but I was so sleepy. I was just worried about what Liz and Patty would think in the morning when they found us like this. On the bed together, me in only my skirt and bra and him in only a pair of black pajama pants. We hadn't done anything accept talk. I slowly closed my eyes and willed my body to sleep. I smiled to myself as I drifted off dreamlessly. I finally didn't have to lie any more. **

**A/N: Chapter 4 is here! I made Kid sound like such a pervert when he was looking at ryuka and seeing her scars. REVIEW! the dream she had is weird as in akward weird. and what else? oh yeah we learned more about Sanguine. yay! Next chapter is called "Partners". Guess what happends! Oh wait, I can't tell you, that would ruin it! HaHa, I'm so mean. JK  
Thank you_ Illusions of Space_! for reviewing me all the time and actually reading my story and pming me and being my friend. Just prepare for what happens next. See you in the next Chapter!**


	5. Partners

Chapter 5: Partners

Ryuka's POV

"Wow," Maka released a breath, "So, Professor Stein, is your father?"

I nodded.

"And your mother is Sanguine Cross, the Death Scythe, "Bloody Sword", in west Asia?"

"Yeah," I sighed. All eight of us sat in a circle on the grass around the middle of the woods. "That's cool," Soul sighed, flopping onto the grass landing on his back with his hands behind his head.

"Whoa," Liz and Patty said in unison.

"Okay," said Tsubaki smiling.

They had all taken it pretty well. I was just concerned about Black*Star. He hadn't said anything since I had begun to explain, but that didn't mean he would keep quiet later.

"It's okay if you tell anybody, I just don't wanna hide anymore."

"Alright," Everybody said in unison.

"Let's get back to the school for class," Maka sighed before standing up.

"Can't we just skip? Reviewing is uncool," Soul said, unmoving.

"Maka…..CHOP!" She smacked Soul's head with a book.

Stein's POV

I had narrowed it down to two different weapon partners for Ryuka. Vienna Turmoil, a scythe, and Grey Night, a machete. Both of them had a stable resonance that should act well with hers, now the only question was if she would want a male or female partner. The door flew open, revealing an overly exited Spirit.

"STIEN! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?"

He was flailing his arms over his head and now standing in my three foot radius. I looked up from the files on my desk lazily. "What is it now, Spirit?"

"YOUR CUTE LITTLE DAUGHTER OF COURSE! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME ABOUT HER?" He was shaking me back and forth now.

"Spirit, let go of me," he released my shoulders, but still kept giving me that idiotic look.

"So, who's her mom?" He asked looking at me with raise brows and an idiotic grin.

"Figure it out for yourself," I growled, wondering just how he found out.

"MARIE!" I glared at him from my chair. "Okay, not Marie!" he tapped his chin, "Oh! I know!" I looked up lazily, "Your old partner, Sanguine! Your little Death Scythe!" I ground my teeth together. "Oh! I knew it!"

I grabbed him by the hair and pulled him towards the door, "Get out," I pushed him to the ground, "That is, unless you want to wake up with new scars in the morning."

Ryuka's POV

Did he know? Of course he did, he knew everything. But what if-

The intercom buzzed on : Ryuka Cross, please report to The Death Room at once.

That caught me by surprise. Oh, great, even Lord Death knows now.

I picked up my bag and headed towards the back of the classroom towards the exit.

"Ryuka," Kid stood up, "Do you know how to get there? I can walk you."

"No, you don't have to do that. I'll be fine, Kid. I have a feeling that this is a private matter."

Grey's POV

The new girl, Ryuka, right? You've got to be joking. Well this was just great. She gave Black*Star a swirly. Who knows what the hell she could do to me! Stein said that it would be easy for us to resonate souls, but how was that supposed to work when we don't even know each other? She joined my class two weeks ago, I'd seen her, but we'd never spoken. She seemed to ride with Death the Kid's crowd. She was the closest with him, Tsubaki, Liz and Maka, but that was about it.

"Um….Hello?" a prominent voice called from the entryway.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Ryuka's POV

"Um….Hello?" I called from the door. Lord Death stood in the corner of the room with Stein in the opposing corner of the room with a person I didn't know standing in the center of the room.

He had timber wolf grey hair that lightly touched his shoulders. His dead eyes were black and cold. He was paler than Kid was. He wore black skinny jeans and a slate colored hoodie that fit loosely on his skinny body.

"Lord Death?" I sat my bag on the ground. He turned and looked at me, "Oh! Hello, Ryuka! How have your classes with our good professor been going?"

I smiled, "Oh, pretty good. I've been making new friends."

"Yah Yah! And how's Kiddo-kun doing?"

I blushed lightly, "H-he's fine. He likes to talk"

"Oh really now?" He tilted sideways, "I've never known my son to be a talker. He must really like you."

My blush grew thicker, "Lord Death, Can we please just cut to the point?"

"Well," Stein stepped closer, "It seems that I was able to find a compatible weapon partner for you."

"Really?" I asked stepping closer.

"Ryuka, this is Grey Night, your new partner." That must have been the boy in the center of the room. I reached out and shook his cold hand. He smiled dully, "Hey, Ryuka," his voice possessed that cold quality as well, but it had another quality that was hidden, a needing quality.

" I need to know why you lied to me, Ryuka," Lord Death said making me jump.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Stop truing to avoid this."

"Okay," She looked from professor Stein then back to Lord Death, "The only reason I didn't tell you that Professor Stein is my father, is because Papa told me to keep it secret. He wanted people to treat me right. And I'm supposed to be a secret as Ryuka Stein."

The Reaper looked over at my father. "I'll talk to you about this later. But only because this meeting is about Ryuka."

I turned back and looked at Grey. He must not have known because of his facial expression.

"So, Grey, what kind of weapon are you."

"A machete," He looked at the ground, "I'm sorry if I seem out of it. I'm just a little nervous. You're my first partner."

"Let's have the two of you train together. See how well your souls balance out."

"Alright," We said as Grey transformed and landed easily in my hand. He had a sleek onyx handle with a thick, sharp, slate blade.

"How do you feel?" Stein asked, lighting a cigarette.

"This is great," I smiled and swung Grey easily in my hand. This felt- what's the word I'm looking for-perfect.

Stein's POV

She swung Grey easily without breaking a sweat. It was as if they'd been partners all their lives. It was probably to early to test their resonance rate. But it seemed like they'd be able to the way they reacted so naturally. Curse this scientific mind that possessed me to think this way!

"Try to resonate souls," I nearly bit my tongue after saying it.

"Stein," Lord Death looked at me quizzically, "Do you really think it wise to test their resonance so soon?"

"They can do it" I replied, "Now you two, concentrate your energy together. I'm your Target."

Ryuka's POV

Resonate Souls? So soon?

"Okay…" I looked from my father to the blade that rested in my hand.

"You ready Grey?" I asked looking at the blade. His cold eyes flashed onto the blade, "Yeah," His voice spilled into my head.

"LET'S GO! SOUL RESONANCE!" we shouted in complete sync. Then I felt the power begin to surge between the both of us.

Stein's POV

They were both incredibly focused. It was unbelievable that neither of them had never worked with another partner before. I held my arms up to defend myself from their attack. They may have been beginners, but this attack would be powerful.

The blade grew about three feet longer and a foot thicker. It began to glow a silvery blue. Then she began to race towards me.

"WITCH HUNTER!" I caught the blade in my hand and pushed her off to the side. "Powerful, but very rough. Excellent for a first attempt." I sighed as Grey transformed back. They were both breathing heavily. Ryuka sat down on her knees. Grey helped her to up and they both looked at me as if the approved of their feed back.

"Why don't the two of you go home and rest up for tomorrow, that's when the real training will begin." They nodded and turn to leave. I turned to face Lord Death. It was time to explain my past mistake.

Ryuka's POV

Once I managed to get home, I just simply flopped onto the couch. I picked up the remote and flipped through the channels, finding nothing interesting on. Frustrated, I turned off the T.V., and tossed the remote back onto the table. I lie there for over and hour, doing nothing,

After a while I got up and took a shower. Not caring to dry my hair, I went across the hall in just my black towel and entered my bedroom. I then dropped the towel and looked at my naked reflection in the mirror. My legs were long and lean. My stomach was well curved. My breasts sat close to my body. My collar bones stuck out. My hair was sticking to my back. My wound on my side was mainly an ugly purple and red splotch. I felt so wrong, without clothes. I put on a pair of black panties, grey shorts, and a black spaghetti strap top then headed back down stairs. I then lie back down on the couch and drifted off to sleep.

A/N: NUDE SCENE! Sorry it's early and I'm kinda out of it. But anyway I finally got this typed! YAY FOR MY GOAL COMPLEATION! I am going to get chapter 6 posted tonight. So yeah, I want to know what you think of her knew partner, Grey. So REVIEW! I love this website it's like one of my favorites. SO.. you in the next chapter!


	6. Conversations

Chapter 6: Conversations

Death the Kid's POV

No, I was not worried about her! Okay, fine! Maybe I was, but only a little bit! I was mainly concerned. Why had she been called to the Death Room? And what happened while she was in there? Spirit had taught classes today, so I had assumed that Professor Stein had been in the Death Room. But I had hoped that he hadn't been to hard on her.

Now the three of us were walking back towards the house. I still starred at the ground as I walked behind Liz and Patty. I really was worried. Professor Stein was crazy, but crazy enough to hurt his own daughter? What if he'd-

"Hey, Kid?" Liz called from in front of me, interrupting my rather disturbing thought. I looked up from the ground, "You don't think that Professor Stein could've hurt Ryuka, do you?"

I shook my head, "I don't trust Stein. He probably doesn't trust me either, considering the fact that I live with his daughter. He probably thinks that I'm sleeping with her."

"Are you sleeping with her?" Liz asked, looking at me suspiciously.

"Of course not, Liz," I sighed, now blushing furiously. I wanted to shout at her, but I was afraid that it could give away that I did like Ryuka in that way.

"OH! SOMEONE'S BLUSHING!" Patty sang out.

"Patty, I'm pretty sure that if he asked me if I was sleeping with someone, I'd start blushing too," Liz sighed turning in towards the path that lead to the front door, "I just want to know where the hell she is," she sighed.

The door swung open, revealing Ryuka -thrashing and sweat-soaked- sleeping on the couch.

"LOOK THERE SHE IS!" Patty shouted, pointing at Ryuka's body. The three of us raced towards her when she let out a small cry of pain.

"What's wrong with her?" Liz asked in alarm. I gently shook her, "Ryuka, come on, w-wake up.'

Inside Ryuka's Dream…..

My arms and legs were tied to the metal table I was on. Grey was on a table next to mine in a similar state. I saw a flash of silver and then there was another slash on my arm. I screamed and thrashed violently, trying to escape my invisible attacker.

"Stop it!" Grey shouted, "Leave her alone!" He was straining against his rope bonds.

"Oh! So you would rather me do this!" An electronically enhanced voice echoed demonically around the chamber. Then a pair of peach-colored feminine hands with black nails brought a dagger down on Grey's throat. Blood shot from the wound and his mouth as he let out a garbled cry.

"GREY!NO!" I shouted straining against the rope bonds that held me down.

"What's that little girl?" The demonic voice echoed around the chamber, "You want to," The silver blade cut into the skin on my cheek, "play?"

Death the Kid's POV

I was doing all that I could not to shout, but I couldn't wake her up. I was still shaking her by the shoulders lightly, saying her name, and telling her to wake her up. Her forehead was beaded with sweat, and she had begun to scream occasionally. Then she said a name "Grey". Who was that? Grey? Just what was going on inside that head of hers?

Back in Ryuka's Dream…..

The blade hovered dangerously close to my throat. Tears were falling heavily off of my face.

"Please….." My voice barely worked at the site of Grey's mangled body, "W-what d-do you want f-from me?"

No response. Then the blade was brought down hard onto the center of my chest.

Death the Kid's POV

"Shouldn't we do something?" Liz asked stepping closer. Then Ryuka's eyes snapped open and she gasped before throwing her arms around my neck and sobbing into my shoulder while clutching my jacket. I held her gently in my arms as she sobbed. I was blushing lightly.

"Is she alright?" Liz asked, backing up slightly. I nodded as she continued to hold onto my jacket, now she was only breathing really hard. She sat up and looked at me with teary olive-green eyes.

"K-kid?" She asked in a shaky voice.

I nodded, "Yes, I'm right here." She was still clinging to me. Hugging to my body with her pale hands.

"Just a dream," she said under her breath. Then her eyes met mine and I couldn't look away, "It was only a dream," She said to me. Starring into my golden eyes with her golden-olive ones.

I nodded, "Are you okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," She got up, "I'm going upstairs. Kid can I ask a favor of you?"

I nodded.

"I need you to invite the group over for dinner. And Grey Night from our class. Can you do that for me?" She asked, heading for the stairs..

I nodded, "May I ask why?"

She smiled, "I think I need to talk with them about a certain thing that I can do." Then she turned and went upstairs.

"What do you think that dream was about?" Liz asked after she was gone, sitting on the couch next to me.

"It must've been scary sis, for her to be screaming and crying like that," Patty stated.

"Well," Liz sighed, "I want to know how she knows Grey Night."

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER- SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Stein's POV

"So what your saying, Stein, is that Ryuka Cross is really your fifteen year old daughter?"

"Yeah, she is," I sighed.

"Well, if she's your daughter, then who did you…urm…_have_ her with?"

I ran my fingers through my hair, "You remember Sanguine, right?"

"Of course! How could I forget the woman you turned into a Death Scythe when you were both 19! She's _your _little Death Scythe!"

"Um, well you see," I was gritting my teeth in frustration at that last comment. I hated it when they referred to her as "My little Death Scythe" , "Sanguine is Ryuka's Mother."

"Oh," he tilted to the side, "So there was a deeper connection between you two than just Weapon and Meister?"

"It was an odd relationship, between the two of us. One that neither of us really understood. After she became a Death Scythe, we went to a concert and after we got home we kind of-"

"I don't need a mental picture of that, Stein. So you guys were only 19?"

I nodded.

"Teenagers," Lord Death sighed, shaking his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nevermind, Stein. So when did you see her last?"

"Last year. She works so we don't see each other all that often. She wants to visit soon, so we might see each other in a few months or so."

"Hmmm…..So a little reunion for the family, huh? Good luck with that."

I shook my head and turned to leave. I felt like I needed to go rip something apart.

Ryuka's POV

I sat on the floor of the shower, letting the hot water pelt me. This was my second shower today, but I felt like I needed to get the sweat off of my skin. I stood up and shut off the water. Grabbing a black towel and wrapping it around my soaked bare body. I opened the curtain and stepped out, only to find Liz standing at the sink doing her hair. I nearly screamed when I saw her. Then she looked up, "What's wrong with you? You look like you just saw a ghost or something."

"You just scarred me, that's all," I sighed walking towards the door, but then she grabbed my arm.

"Ryuka," Her face was totally serious, "What can you do that you need to talk to everyone about?"

I pulled my arm away lightly, "It's a mind trick."

"How does it work?"

I looked into her blue eyes, "That's why everyone is here." I exited the bathroom to go change.

About and hour or so later….

" So how does this trick of yours work?" Maka asked, looking at me curiously.

"It's and old trick. My mother could do it, so I guess I got it from her. The basic function though, is to establish a mental link with someone so that you can communicate telepathically. I can't do it with everybody, but my father and I have been doing it since I was 10."

They were all looking at me as if I were crazy. I probably was. I knew who I wanted a link with: Maka, Tsubaki, Liz, Kid, and Grey. My mental link had already formed with Grey during our resonance exercise earlier today.

"Okay," Soul looked at me blankly, "Can you show us?"

I nodded, "Say something to Grey, but at a level that isn't audible to me."

Soul leaned over and whispered something into Grey's ear. "Now think it to me Grey."

I tapped into his Wavelength to access his mind.

_Soul told me that he thinks you and Kid did it the night that you moved in._

I opened my eyes, "No, Soul. Kid and I did not have sex the night that I moved in."

Soul's eyes widened and Kid's face grew bright red. I nearly laughed at the sight of it.

Now I could communicate how I wanted.

Later that night….

I lay in my bed, unable to sleep. Stupid sleep deprivation. Then I heard a knock on my door. I sat up to look before saying, "Come in."

Kid walked through the door.

"Oh, hey Kid-kun, What's up?" I asked.

"I've been thinking," He sat on the bed next to me.

"About?" I turned around to hang upside down off of the edge of my bed.

"You."

I felt my face turn bright red, "W-what about me?"

"Why did you say that you would stay here when I offered, even though you barely knew me?"

"I," I sat back up, "I guess I just liked you. Your cute after all."

He was blushing now too, "You think so?"

"Yeah, I love the stripes, even if you hate them. I think their cute in your midnight hair," I smiled and ruffled his hair in my fingers. Then he leaned forward and pressed his cool lips to mine. It was soft, it was giving.

I sat up in bed with my face burning. Damn it, I was asleep just then. Now I felt weird. I felt like I really wanted him to kiss me.

A/N: CHAPTER 6 IS FINALLY DONE! I'm sorry I took so long, I had homework to do. Can't be flunking out of school now can I? Anyway, REVIEW! I CHECKED MY STATS THE OTHER DAY AND I _**KNOW**_ THAT PEOPLE ARE READING IT! So review! I really want to know what you think of my style and my story! Reviews help fuel my writing engine. The next chapter will be called: Resonance. I know it's a lame title, but it's Ryuka and Grey's first extra-curricular mission! So exited! See you all in the next chapter!


	7. Resonance

Chapter 7: Resonance

Ryuka's POV

It was early Saturday morning, and Grey and I were in the Death Room. We both stood before Lord Death, ready to leave, to wherever our target was located. I was tired, but this was our first mission and I needed to focus.

"Who is our target?" I asked, shifting my weight as I listened.

"Don't you mean targets?"

Grey and I looked at the Shinigami curiously, wondering why he had used plural terms.

"You have three. Joy Pagoda, The Ork of Paislyn, and the mass murderer Lord Sareth. We're sending you to Transylvania for the reclamation of their Kishin souls."

"Understood, Lord Death," Three weeks of training had led up to our first soul collection, "I'll contact you when it's done."

The reaper waved us off so that we couldn't miss our flight. I looked at the center of my palm where I had scrawled a series of seven numbers in black sharpie.

"42-42-564," I muttered under my breath.

Grey's POV

We were on the flight now. I sat in the aisle and her at the window. Her hair was in a loose braid that sat across her left shoulder. She wore a sparrow gray trench coat that stopped at the middle of her calves. She twiddled with the silver end of her braid between her middle and index finger as she stared absently out the window.

"Hey, Ryuka?" She looked up at me with her olive-gold eyes, coming out of her daze.

"Is there a reason that you've been acting kind of strange lately?"

"I didn't think I was acting different," She tilted her head to the side.

"Is it a Kid reason?"

She blushed, and looked away, "He's jealous of you, did you know that?"

My eyes widened, "Now why would three stripes be jealous of a guy like me?"

"A guy like you?"

"A guy who distances himself from everyone. The kind of guy that needs a person to lean on."

"So," She looked back at me, "Kid thinks that I'm your crutch," She looked back down, "how cute."

"I'm Sorry?" I asked, wondering what caused that slight blush and smile to cross her face.

"Our partnership is what makes him jealous," She looked up at me, "and I think that's cute."

Ryuka's POV

I looked at Grey as he swallowed his second soul of the night. Just on more, Lord Sareth.

" Hey, Ryuka," his voice pulled me out of my daze, "Where do you think Sareth is?"

"According to the information that Lord Death gave us, he should be in the Castle of Albion, which isn't too far from here," I said turning back around to face him. The glowing moon laughed as blood seeped out of it's crazy smile. The view from this rooftop was beautiful.

"Let's Get going."

At the Castle of Albion…..

The large wooden doors swung open with a long, outdrawn creaking noise. In the center of the room stood a tall slender man in a cerulean cloak. He had long silver hair and glowing blood red eyes. I tightened my grip on Grey's hilt.

"Lord Sareth!" The man turned to face me, "You are wanted for the taking of over 30 human souls!"

"The man smirked, "So, what's a little girl like you going to do about it?"

I grit my teeth, this guy was starting to piss me off, "I'm a student of the DWMA and my partner Grey and I have come to reclaim your soul in the name of the grim reaper!"

"So I see, your one of the Academy's little pets," He smirked, "Well the only way that your going to get my soul, is if you take it."

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Death the Kid's POV

I sat on the couch, flipping carelessly through the channels and finding nothing of interest to me. I suck it in the History Channel to watch a special on symmetrical architecture. Ahhhh, symmetry….

"Hey, Kid," Liz called from the kitchen. I stood up and turned off the television before walking though the door that led to the room where the smell of food was coming from. She looked up at me after setting the third black and white square plate onto the black square table, "Dinner's ready."

I looked around at the three plates, missing the fourth, "Where's Ryuka's plate?"

Liz sat down, sighing, "She told me that she would be in really late and didn't care if I made her some food or not."

Patty walked in the door before flopping down at the table and beginning to swallow the food in facefulls. "Sis, Why can't we just put the food on a plate with saran wrap and into the fridge?" She asked between chews.

"Fine, Fine," Liz grumbled, grabbing another plate from the cabinet and putting the food on it, "Since were all so insistent on feeding her." She put the plate in the fridge before sitting down and eating. The both of them began to chatter about girl things. I wasn't paying any mind. Instead I thought about Ryuka while poking mindlessly at my food.

"Oh come on, Kid," Liz sighed, scooping up a forkful of my mashed potatoes and cramming them into my mouth, "I know you like my cooking."

I gagged, nearly choking on the unexpected bite before swallowing it. "I do like you cooking, Liz," I wiped my mouth with a napkin, "I'm just thinking right now."

"What about?" Patty asked, setting her fork down and starring at me.

"None of your damn business," I growled as I stood up to leave the room.

"Ryuka…." Liz said in a mock tone of my voice, "After all, She is his girlfriend."

I snapped around, "SHUT UP, LIZ! WHY DO YOU ALWAYS TEASE ME ABOUT THAT?"

"You know that I'm right," She sat her fork down and rested her head on the palms of her hands.

"Whatever."

"Let's not forget that night a month back where Patty and I found the two of you half naked in her bed."

My eyes went a little wider. I didn't think that anybody had seen that.

"Nothing happened! I just fell asleep in her bed! That's all!"

"Sure," Liz muttered as I left the room.

Ryuka's POV

The man was drunk with his own evil powers. He cackled and charged towards me. I used Grey to block him, sending him flying him across the room.

"Come on little girly," He cracked a smile as I stopped him in his tracks with my blade, "Surely that isn't the best that you can do. Your boring me."

I swung into his side to push him away. God, this guy was really pissing me off.

"You ready, Grey?" I asked.

"Yeah."

"LET'S GO! SOUL RESONANCE!" We shouted in complete unison. I felt our souls increase in power as we flew forward and the blade begun to expand in my hands, "WITCH HUNTER!" I shouted, throwing the blade through the Kishin's body. His form slowly began to fade into the red tattered soul the Grey reached forward to eat.

I found a mirror and wrote the Death Room's number into the fogged glass.

"HIYA!" Lord Death waved through the mirror, "So how is the mission going, Ryuka?"

I smiled, "We captured all of the targets, and have collected their souls. Everything has gone according to plan."

H tilted to the side, "Excellent! Now the two of you may return to Death City!" With that the image clicked away and the room went dark. I heard Grey approach me from behind, "Let's go home."

Grey's POV

I sat in the isle. Her next to me. She lay asleep with he head nestled into my shoulder. If Kid saw this right now, he'd kill me on the spot. But I liked the feeling of her against my skin. I smiled as she breathed softly. She was beautiful, in her own way.

Ryuka's POV

I slid my replica of Kid's house key into the lock before opening the shiny black door. Every light was off. I flipped a switch to reveal Kid sleeping soundlessly on the couch. I smiled and grabbed a blanket.

"Silly Kid-kun," I sighed out loud, laying the black quilt evenly over his body, "Your going to catch a cold." I then kissed his forehead softly before walking into the kitchen to find a late supper. I opened the fridge only to find a black square plate with what looked like dinner.

"Wow, you really do care," I smiled as I warmed up the food then sat at the table and ate. I then set the dish into the dishwasher and headed back into the living room. I was so sleepy, I couldn't even make it up the stairs.

I tossed my jacket onto the coat rack and unbraided my hair before lying down next to Kid and tucking the quilt around my body. He sighed in his sleep and place his arm around my waist. I smiled before dosing off into a dreamless sleep while lying in the young reaper's arms.

A/N: YAY! I finally finished it! I'm Exited about getting the next chapter up! It's called: The Dance. I know REAL ORIGONAL! But that's what It is. Anyway…I want to know what your favorite part of this chapter was! I love my own story! I'm not trying to brag! Anyway….SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	8. The Dance

Chapter 8: The Dance

Ryuka's POV

I think the most entertaining thins a fifteen year old girl can do, is go shopping for a formal-type dress. Liz and I had roamed the mall all day, looking for something and buying new things as we went. Her and Patty already had their matching dark red outfits, and Kid already had his white outfit. Now I just needed something nice to wear. We walked into another store and headed strait for the dresses hoping to find something.

"Anything in mind? Or are we still winging it?" Liz asked as we browsed. Then I saw it.

"LIZ! THIS IS PERFECT!" I smiled as I looked at the dress in front of me. It was solid black and sleeveless with thick straps and a high neckline. It trailed lightly just above the floor. It had three white stripes that went symmetrically around the waist. It was perfect.

She smiled, "It reminds me of him. I think it looks cute. Go on, go try it on." I took it off the rack and headed to the dressing room.

It slid easily over my body, fitting snuggly on my curves, I turned in the mirror to view myself at every angle. This was perfect.

Stein's POV

I slipped quietly into my sleeping daughter's room, a pair of scissors in hand. I looked at the dress that she had bought earlier today. It was too clean, too plain. I smirked and snipped the scissors. This would be fun.

Ryuka's POV

I looked at my reflection. My dad really pissed me off. Sometime the night after I bought my dress, he came in and changed it. My perfect dress had become a grey and black stitched monstrosity. It now had no straps whatsoever, and cut off in the middle of my thigh. It had lace on the edge of the skirt and the top. The stitches were asymmetrically sewing the grey, black, and white fabric together.

I had left my hair down and worn a pair of grey and white stitched knee-length combat boots. My dad may have changed my look, but he would love this. Kid, however, would absolutely hate this.

I grabbed my black and white stitched purse and walked out my door.

Kid had asked me to go with him, and tonight was going to be fun.

"Kid, I'm sorry about the asymmetry, I swear. I had it perfect before!"

He was just awaking from his recent nosebleed. My dress had made him faint. I felt almost horrid, "If it wasn't for my damned father."

He smirked, "Never trust the good Dr. Stein."

I reached to help him up from his bedroom floor, but he pulled me down, so I landed on top of him.

I blushed heavily, "Kid-Kun?"

He smirked even wider, "Your so cute when you get all nervous."

"Ha ha," I mock laughed, playfully hitting his arm. I stayed on top of him, seeing when he would decide to move what he'd put there.

"So I see your so frisky already," We both looked up from the sound of Liz's voice at the door. I immediately got off of Kid as she looked at us, on the verge of a smile.

"We were just playing a game, Liz."

"What kind of game?" She arched an eyebrow.

"Liz, can we just get going?" Kid stood and took my hand to help me up.

Stein's POV

My idea of "Dressing Up" is wearing my normal clothes, but with a white stitched dress shirt. I stood in the corner of the room, sipping on my glass of champagne. People were slowly showing up in groups. There was Maka and Soul. Black*Star went strait to the food, Tsubaki tailing him. Then came Liz and Patti in matching suits, with Kid right behi- wait a sec, was that Ryuka on his arm? Oh my God, it was her. Smiling and laughing, wearing the dress I had fashioned out of her old one with boots and a bag that matched. I knew something like this would happen. He would end up with her, but that didn't mean that I liked it. I no longer trusted him. Not with my daughter. What if he hurt her?

My glass had gone dry. Then I refilled it. It was time to pay doctor medusa a little visit for some information.

Death the Kid's POV

I got off of the stage after my little fight with Black*Star. Damn that guy was annoying. I straightened my clip and found Ryuka in the crowd. She smiled that fluttering smile.

"I thought you were doing good. Too bad Black*Star had to interrupt."

I touched her shoulder, "I don't even care anymore."

She smiled and touched my hand with hers, "Y-you wanna dance?" She asked curiously, taking my hand with hers.

I nodded, "Love too."

Ryuka's POV

Did he just say yes? The asking me to come with him as his date was crazy enough, but dancing with me? I could already see my father talking to Dr. Medusa at the corner of the room, probably pulling the old "Pretend to be drunk to gain information" bit.

He took my hand and the both of us moved to a corner of the room.

Death the Kid's POV

I picked a spot as far away from the rest of the crowd as I possibly could to give us some privacy. A new song began to play. It was slow, slightly familiar and almost sad sounding.

I took her right hand in my left and then placed my other hand on her waist as she sat hers on my shoulder. We began to dance in little side-to-side motions. She clung to me, forcing herself to keep her footing precise. She looked up at me smiling.

"Hey, Kid?"

"Hm?" I asked looking at her soft eyes.

"Why are you looking at me that way?"

"Oh," I looked down, blushing slightly, "I didn't realize I was doing that. Does it bother you?"

She shook her head back and forth, "Kid can I ask you something?"

A small blush flicked across her face as she asked. "What is it?"

"What do you think of….Me?"

I tilted my head to the side, "You know that I like you."

"But is their something beyond that, Kid?" She asked tilted my head up to make me look at her.

"Ryuka…." My voice trailed, Then I found myself leaning in close to her.

Ryuka's POV

He leaned closer, tilting my head to the side with his cool hand. My eyes went a little wider as his forehead pressed to mine, our noses touched and then….nothing.

He pulled away and set his head on my shoulder. He was just about to kiss me. But why did he stop?

"Kid?"

"Is this what you want? What you really want, Ryuka?"

"Why would I want any different?"

"Do you have what it takes to love a Shinigami? To love something like me?"

"Y-yes."

He began to lean closer again, but then the doors flew open. "Lord Death!"

That was Sid's voice. Our heads snapped up to the door. What was going on?

"This is what they've been waiting for. The day when all the students and teachers are in one place and Lord Death steps away from his mirror."

My father's eyes widened as he turned toward the balcony before calling out, "MEDUSA!" But she had already leapt over the railing. Then in only a matter of moments, the room began to shake.

I clung to Kid, "W-what's happening?" I asked as Sid drew his dagger and plunged it into the ground sending Make, Soul, Black*Star, Tsubaki, Liz, Patty, Kid, and my father falling through the floor. Kid's hand went from my grasp as the floor began to close back up.

"Kid!"

A/N: This is not the end of the chapter, I'm just skipping a chunk of the Rival of the Kishin episodes because if I put them in it would happen just like in the show and I don't feel like retyping the show. So therefore, The following scenes have been CUT: /the very beginning of the underground parts of the academy, Maka's fight with Crona, Kid's fight with Free ( The first on where it's just an allusion using spatial magic), and Spirit's whole "You Damned Witch" Crying moment. So Continuing on….

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Back inside the magic cube….

Ryuka's POV

The man, the one that gave me this ugly gash on my side, was the Kishin, or at least a hallucination caused by his madness? This was insanity. Lord Death had just told us about the Kishin and how he was currently sleeping underneath the DWMA. Something deep within me said that he wouldn't stay there much longer. I didn't want to believe that, but I had a strong feeling.

I slumped against the wall in the corner of the room and closed my eyes focusing, Trying to find Kid's wavelength so that I could tap into his mind.

Ryuka (Inside Kid's mind) A/N: Not reading his pervy thoughts he once had about her. LOL

He was on his skateboard, Beelzebub, (A/N: Yes that is the board's actual name, It's in one of the episodes about the black dragon) speeding down the hallway to the door that lead to the Kishin's place of rest. I saw the immortal werewolf standing in front of the bag, shielding the frog witch, Eruka, from Kid's shots.

Black*Star ran in from behind, attacking the witch. The battle between them went at a continuous rate, then Black*Star cut the shrine that sealed the bag.

Ryuka's POV

I couldn't watch that anymore. I knew what was going to happen. It was going to revive. The Kishin Asura was going to be reborn into the world. No, no, no, no, no. That could not happen.

I stood up and raced across the room, Grey tailing strait behind me.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no," I was hissing under my breath.

"Ryuka? Ryuka, what is it?" He asked grabbing my arm.

I shook him off, "It's going to happen. It's going to be reborn."

He pulled me to the side, "The Kishin?"

"Gotta tell Lord Death," I said stepping towards the Shinigami.

Death the Kid's POV

It was putting it's skin back on, and it was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen. It slowly stood and then flicked me on the forehead with it's skin. A third eye emerged on my forehead and then I crumpled to the floor.

Ryuka's POV

I told Lord Death and just as the cube wore off. He stormed out angrily and took of into the sky. I needed to find Kid. I tapped into his mind.

In Kid's Mind…..

Unconscious Blackness

Ryuka's POV

I couldn't get him it was totally dark. What was happening?

A.N: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUUUUUUN! It's all better later though! Next Chapter is called: The Arrival. SANGUINE (RYUKA'S MOM) SHOWS UP! SO Exiting!i'm sorry if i left anything important fromthe series out! I think that this is the longest chapter that I've done so far. Tell me what you think, OKAY? See you all in the next Chapter!


	9. The Arrival

Chapter 9: The Arrival

Death the Kid's POV

Sun was streaming through the closed black drapes of my room. I felt a light and gentle hand stroking my black and white hair. I felt a small smile dance across my lips as l felt the coolness of her palms. This is how the mornings had been since the Kishin's revival. Since I passed out down underground, I awoke to Ryuka stroking my head softly.

"Ryuka…." I moaned as opened my eyes to reveal her sitting at the edge of my bed, smiling that fluttering smile.

"Morning," She sighed before lying down next to me and pressing my forehead to hers.

"Morning," I returned her soft smile and met her eyes. Her eyes had begun to sprout dark circles beneath them. She was worried about me. Of course I would be worried about her too if she showed up unconscious on Grey's back.

"What are we doing today?" She asked as she continued to ruffle my hair beneath her slim fingers.

"Not sure. I got a call from Soul saying that we were going to play basketball in the park today and we were supposed to meet him there," In thought, basketball seemed pretty, in Soul's terms, cool. I hadn't been out of the house since the underground battle, and Ryuka hadn't left my side.

"Basketball? What if you hurt yourself worse?" Now she was acting like my mother.

"I'm not going to get hurt playing ball anymore than I would at school."

Ryuka's POV

I clung to his arm as he dragged me through the streets of Death City towards the park. He had managed to make be get dressed, I wore a pair of gray skinny jeans, black converse, and a black spaghetti strapped top with my hair in a loose braid. I dug my feet into the ground, "This is stupid! Do we have to go?"

Patty pranced in her pink skimpy top and camouflage pants in front of us, "It'll be fun!" She sang out as they continued walk.

No good could come of this.

Sanguine's POV

I smirked to myself as I got off of the plane. Death City. I was returning home at last. I was originally here on vacation, but Lord Death had informed me of the Kishin's revival. Just what I needed, more work. I walked across town with my black rolling suitcase behind me. I liked the sound that it made as the wheels hit against the pavement. Time to take care of business, but also time to see Stein and Ryuka.

Stein's POV

I watched the kids play ball as Marie chatted about how she didn't have a boyfriend right now, so she might as well do some work. Ryuka stood in the shade of one of the tree's whose branches hung over into the park. She was watching the game, laughing softly, probably at how bad Maka was at this. The Spirit walked behind me,

"What are they doing?" He asked, "Didn't we tell them to stay at home until their wounds were all healed?"

"I'm amazed at how carefree kids can be," I sighed.

Then Maka walked over.

Spirit smiled, "Oh, hey, what's going on Maka?"

"Well you see papa," Her face was bright red and she rubbed her hands together as if she were frustrated, "Do you wanna hang out, like, Saturday?"

The next thing we knew, Spirit was kneeling down puking. We all starred in shock before Maka ran over and began to rub his back gently.

"Why is Spirit puking and I didn't cause it?" A familiar voice asked, standing at the entryway to the park. I looked towards the noise.

She was still only ten inches shorter than me. She still had long black hair with the last six inches of it dyed blood red. She was still wearing those black skinny's, one of her concert t-shirts, and her black trench coat with the red leather collar. A red ribbon tied around her pale neck with a black cross tied a little more loosely in front of it. Her perfect eyebrows now raised in curiosity. Her blood red eyes looking at me strangely. She had that sarcastic smirk on which I had only see leave her face but one time. Her black combat boots still went to the middle of her calf with the leather straps that had chrome pyramid studs lining those straps. Sanguine.

"Hey," I stood smirking, "What's up San?"

Ryuka walked a little closer, "Mom?"

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Sanguine's POV

Stein's house hadn't changed since my last visit, or really since the night I left for West Asia. Beakers instead of regular glasses (Which is easy to get used to believe it or not), The stitched gray and white walls, and the white arrows on the black floor. I sat down next to Ryuka on the couch. She had made some tea and the three of us each had a beaker of the sweetened drink in our hands. Stein sat backwards in his rolling chair with his arms draped over it's back, thick beaker in his hand. The silence since the tea had been prepared was growing to be almost eerie.

"So," Ryuka sat her beaker down on the table, "What have you been up to lately, Momma?"

"Been here, been there. Kicked some ass. The usual," I sighed as I set my beaker onto the table. This was my job, as a Death Scythe. Controlling West Asia was difficult. To many punk-ass people trying to cause trouble.

"So what have you been up to?" I asked her in response.

"Oh," her face flushed, " Dad enrolled me in the academy about two months ago. After the incident."

"What incident?"

"The Kishin's madness," Stein's voice cut through the room like a razor, " She had a vision, but it unusually had left a physical wound on her."

I looked at Ryuka and she pulled her shirt up slightly at her left side, revealing an ugly purple and dark red blotch on her skin just a few inches below the stitches around her middle. The stitches on her weren't any different. She'd had them since she was about ten. Stein was only curious after all, and neither of had blamed him or became irritated about it.

"What else has happened recently?"

"I have the same mind trick you do, and I figured out how to make it work."

I raised an eyebrow, "How many have you managed to link?"

"I've made three incredibly strong links and three others," She looked down, "Your not part of either of those yet," She looked back up at me, "But would you care if I did, develop a link?"

"Not at all," My smirk widened.

Ryuka's POV

I was sleepy from the long day of today. Liz and Patty were in the kitchen, cleaning the mess up from supper. Kid and I sat on the couch, watching Van Helsing. We both loved this movie, and since school was starting up tomorrow, we decided to relax and have a little fun before having constant class assignments.

I leaned over onto Kid's shoulder. Ever since the Kishin had revived, I felt like I couldn't leave him alone. I felt like if we were separated again, he would return to only be unconscious, or in a state worse than that. He gently sat his arm around me, in a sort of protective manor. Did he feel this way as well? I felt a blush flicker across my face. Then I snuggled to his shoulder. I was just so tired tonight, but I didn't want to fall asleep. At least, not here, not now.

Then I heard footsteps coming from the kitchen. Probably Liz or Patty finished with their cleaning. "HEY KID!" Patty squealed, getting closer. I could hear her feet hitting the tile loudly.

The two of us barely had time to look up before she shoved Kid towards me. The next thing I knew, I was on my back with my hands loosely at my side. Kid landed on top of my, hands to either side of my head to prevent himself from completely falling on top of me, and his legs framed my waist as his body hovered above mine. His eyes and mine were both wide, both of us blushing a deep red. Patty was giggling hysterically near the door and Liz wore a smirk from where she stood at the entryway to the kitchen.

Then I heard the door swing open, and behind it revealed the both of my parents.

Sanguine's POV

Stein had decided, "Let's go visit Ryuka at Kid's house. Come on, it'll be fun!". Boy was he dead wrong. First of all, it did not feel right visiting Lord Death's son, whom I had recently found out was the person that Ryuka lived with now instead of Stein. Second of all, I did not expect to find this.

My daughter was on the couch in one of the most disturbing and awkward positions that you could ever possibly find your daughter in. She was being pinned down by none other than Kid, who I had begun to like less and less since I'd learned of her living with him. They were both bright red and OH MY GOD, HE WAS STRADALING HER! I could hear Stein snickering behind me, clutching the doorframe in order to stay standing.

I dashed into the room and picked up Kid by his hair, lifting him about eight inches off of the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL? HOW DARE YOU EVEN TOUCH, LET ALONE PUT THE MOVES ON, MY DAUGHTER? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING, THREE STRIPES?" I shouted, shaking him forcefully.

He covered the striped side of his head with his left hand, "It was an accident! I swear! Patty pushed me!"

"Mom!" Ryuka cried, blush still heavily coloring her cheeks, "Put him down!"

I dropped Kid to the floor with a 'thud' and looked down at Stein, who was rolling with laughter on the floor. I picked Stein up by the back of his lab coat and dragged him out the door as he continued to laugh.

"It may have been and accident this time," I closed one of the dual doors, "But it better not happen again," I growled, slamming the door and pulling Stein behind me.

After a few blocks, he was still laughing.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!" I screamed releasing his collar and sending his head into a small puddle of mud.

He laughed as he wiped some of the mud off of his face, "Y-you should've seen your face!" He began to release another wave of maniacal laughter.

I grit my teeth together, but still wore my usual smirk. This was just GREAT.

Death the Kid's POV

I hadn't moved from the floor since Sanguine had thrown me there. If it was even possible, Patty was laughing even harder than before and had recently been joined by Liz, who was almost laughing just as hard. I could've sworn I could see the dark energy that had been smoking off of that Death Scythe. Great, I pissed off a Death Scythe. Just what I needed to screw this mixed up life of mine more.

"LOOK WHAT YOU TWO HAVE DONE NOW!" I shouted at my weapons, who were nearly passed out from all their laughter, "JUST WHAT I NEEDED! HER MOM HATES ME! DAMN IT! WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY?"

Patty sat up and looked at me before answering , "YES!" She cried before plunging back into her fit of laughter.

I shook my head, "You two are unbelievable," I groaned, walking towards the stairs.

"But," Liz was coming out of her laughing fit, "You know you liked it…"

I blushed, "This is just so screwed up…" I sighed before walking up the stairs.

A/N: LOL, Awkward! I'm sorry if the chapter is shorter than normal, I just really want to get started on my flashbacks, because those are incredibly long. There's two of them too. It's like: Back in the days before Sanguine was officially a Death Scythe and they were all in the DWMA as students! So cute, but really weird at the same time! The next chapter is called: A Journey into the Past part one: Wait, I'm a Death Scythe? I'm so exited! See you all in the next chapter!


	10. A Journey Into the Past PART 1

Chapter 10: A Journey into the Past Part 1: Wait, I'm a Death Scythe?

Sanguine's POV

I awoke to Stein shaking me in my black twin bed, trying to rouse me. I said Trying, not succeeding.

I opened one eye and looked at my nineteen year old meister. He was already dressed in his usual black skinny jeans with his dark grey stitched T-shirt and white stitched lab coat. His silver hair had been cleaned and hung down, avoiding the edges of his gun-metal colored giant screw that went through his head. A small set of thin black stitches went across his face as his eyebrows slanted down and he continued to poke at me.

"San, get up," He growled as he began to shake me, "Usually I wouldn't care, but were going to be late for school."

I closed my eye and pulled the covers over my head, "And your telling me this why?" I groaned. I was tired and it was Monday. Clearly this was an indication that I was going to cut classes for the morning, because it happened just about every other Monday.

"Sanguine, do you know what today is?" He growled as he grabbed a scalpel out of his pocket and walked towards the end of my bed.

I looked at him suspiciously, "No, for the record, I don't. And I'll guess what else, Stein, I don't really care."

"Get out of bed, San," He hissed at me, "Or else."

"Or else my ass, Stitches. What the hell are you gonna do?" I asked, narrowing my eyes and my smirk widened. Then he grabbed my left foot and began to scrape his scalpel roughly across my skin. This didn't hurt though, it tickled. My feet had always been incredibly ticklish and even with the sharp blade scraping at my skin, I was biting my tongue to keep in laughter. Stein knew that I was ticklish, and I couldn't give in. I wouldn't let him win this time.

I turned to look at him. He was smirking insanely as he ran the blade over my foot, "The small of your back is next, Cross. I know that I can make you get up."

I narrowed my eyes at him as he began to reach for my covers to get to my back. I sat up and slapped his hand away, "Fine. You win, I'll get up."

He stood up and smirked before leaning against the wall. Smart ass. I stood up, wearing my black tank top with red knee length shorts. Then I noticed a fresh set of stitches in my right calf. I looked up at Stein.

"What is this?" I asked, pointing at the scar that would fade and heading towards my closet to grab my clothes.

"Oh," He smirked "I got bored last night. You were asleep, figured you wouldn't mind.."

I threw my skinny jeans an t-shirt at him, "YOU BASTARD!" I shouted stomping over and smacking him in the head, "I generally don't mind you slicing into me every now and then, Stitches! But I prefer to be consulted before you cut me !"

"Jeez, San," He smirked, "I didn't think you'd be that pissed."

He reached up and pulled the shirt off of his head, leaving my jeans across his shoulder. "Linkin Park, huh?" He asked, looking at the shirt. I snatched the shirt out of his hands and pulled the jeans off of him.

"Don't be so cocky," I said before plunging my hand into his silver hair and screwing up his hair worse than it already was, "I'm gonna go shower now. See you in a little while, okay, Stitches."

Stein's POV

"What the hell?" Sanguine asked as we walked into the main hall at 7:55, "Where is everybody?"

I sighed at the empty hallway. It was hard to believe that she had forgotten.

"Sanguine," I turned to look at her, "Their all in the Death Room."

"Oh My God! Did someone die?" She asked in a sarcastic tone.

I smirked, "Funny and no."

"Then what the hell I going on?" She shouted, grabbing my arm.

"Sanguine," I turned and looked at her, "You kinda became a Death Scythe last night."

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Sanguine's POV

"WHAT THE HELL!DON'T LIE TO ME STEIN!" I shouted looking at him in disbelief. There was no way, may I repeat, _**no way in hell**_, that I was a Death Scythe.

"I'm not the kind of person to lie about something like that, San," His voice was serious, "That woman that we hunted last night, That was the Witch Yumiko."

"But her soul was green!"

"Her soul was purple, and you were legally intoxicated," He said in an almost calm voice. It was as if he had expected this.

"Wait, the Witch Yumiko?" I asked tilting my head to the side.

"Yes, San," He leaned against the wall, "Yumiko the Snow Witch." He reached into his pocket and pulled a cigarette out before lighting it and placing it between his teeth.

"The Snow Witch?" I looked at him curiously. Then I got mad and snatched the cigarette from him before crushing it underneath my foot, "How many times do I have to tell you, Stein? Smoking is bad!"

Stein's POV

Damn, she was getting on my nerves. At least I had a good weapon. Now the both of us stood in the Death Room before Lord Death. Every one from school was there. Sprit, my former partner and current Death Scythe, stood next to Kami (A/N: In the Manga, that's Maka's mother's name), who cradled a small baby with large emerald eyes and mouse brown hair (A/N: it's MAKA!*squeal*). Marie stood next to Azusa, both of them Death Scythes that had graduated earlier this year. Justin, who had been a Death Scythe since we were thirteen, had his ear-buds in his ears and looked at Lord Death with complete admiration. Lord Death stood in front of his mirror with his one year old sin sitting behind him. The tiny pale boy had golden eyes and midnight hair other than the three white stripes on the left side, which bad him frown when he saw them in his reflection and then he would begin to paw at them insanely.

"Congratulations you two! You have collected 99 Kishin souls and the soul of 1 witch!" Lord Death beamed, "Sanguine you are now me eighth Death Scythe!"

She smirked, "I know. I'm just that awesome!"

Sanguine's POV

"Hey, San," Stein called as he walked past me in the hallway.

"Hey, Stein," I smirked wider as held Spirit up by his collar.

"Normal Day? Despite The graduation today, huh?' He asked as he grabbed a book out of his locker and walked past us again.

"Yep! So we still on for going to the Crossfade concert tomorrow night?" I asked. One of the perks of Graduating Monday is that we got the rest of this week and all of next week out of school as an reward.

"Yeah, See you then!" He smiled and walked down the hall towards his class. I gave a smirk in return before turning back to Spirit.

"I've got it!" His face lit up, "I know why your always picking on me!"

I rolled my eyes, "Okay, What is it then?"

"THE ONLY REASON THAT YOU PICK ON ME, IS BECAUSE YOUR TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH ME!"

I slammed him into the locker hard and hit him in in the face. "What the hell kind of reason is that?" I asked watching a bruise slowly begin to blossom on his face.

He opened one eye, "That's the reason isn't it?"

"HELL NO!" I screamed hitting him again and dropping him to the ground. I walked away smirking. What a dumb-ass, didn't he know I was just having fun?

Stein's POV

I was actually happy that I had bought the tickets, because this was FREAKIN AWESOME!

Sanguine seemed to be enjoying herself as well. She wore her knew Black and Red Crossfade shirt. Her hair flew everywhere as she banged her head. Then as the last song they played ended, she threw her arms around my neck and did the most unexpected thing. She kissed me.

After a moment she realized what she was doing and backed off. She immediately looked away. And I could only stare at her.

Spirit's POV

I sat next to Kami on the couch. She had just laid Maka down for the night. We were watching LOST. Kami had liked it since we assigned as partners, in fact it was probably her favorite.

The house was quiet, aside from the television. Kami sat with the head on my shoulder, focusing intently on her show. I had my arm rested atop her shoulder. I loved her so much.

Then small crying noises came from the other room. Kami started to stand, but I held her back and stood up.

"I've got it, Kami. You've been working yourself too hard lately," I said pressing my lips to hers.

I pulled away and she smiled, "Okay."

I walked across the room and into the small pale green room which served as Maka's nursery. The baby lay in her cherry-wood crib with a thick strand of tears flowing down her tiny face.

I smiled and picked her up, cradling her in my arms. She continued too cry but it slowed, and eventually stopped.

"What do you say, Maka," I asked holding her to where she would look at me, "Do you wanna read a story?"

The tiny girl giggled and nodded here head. I walked over to the shelves, still holding her. She reached onto the shelves and grabbed her favorite: "Good Night Moon". She smiled and held the book up to me with a smile.

I rolled my eyes in a teasing manor, "That one again? We always read that one."

"Paaaaaaaaaaaa!" she squealed, pushing the book towards me.

After Maka has fallen asleep…..

I smiled in the rocking chair as I held Maka, who had fallen asleep. She was so cute. My daughter was so cute. I got up and sat her in her crib. Then I heard Kami walk through the door behind me. I still stood by Maka's crib when I felt Kami's soft hands touch my shoulders.

"Spirit," I felt her head press to my back, "I'm so tired. Let's go lie down okay?"

I turned around and ran my hands through her soft mousy brown curls and met her emerald eyes, "That's the best thing I've heard all day."

We walked into our room, not bothering to change out of the clothes we'd worn all day. I lie down on the bed, soon followed by Kami who rested her head on my chest. Then before I knew, it we were both asleep.

Sanguine's POV

We walked into the front door of the house. The walls gray and stitched. The house was still dark.

"Stein?" I looked up as him as he looked back at me, "I'm sorry about the…uh…kiss."

"It's alright, San." He smiled at me. Then craned his neck down and pressed his lips to mine. This was confusing. A concept I figured neither of us understood. Love. Eventually I had him pressed to the door and eventually turned the knob to his bedroom. I lie down on my back atop his bed and got my coat off. He continued to kiss me as his coat came off as well. Then I urged his shirt off of his body, exposing his stitched bare chest.

A/N: That is the end of Chapter 10. I know your probably like: NO! but you get the idea of what happens next. I want to know what you think about the first flashback. SO TELL ME! I need Reviews! But you guys are getting better so I have to give you credit for that. Ummmm….. OH YEAH! The next chapter is called: A Journey into The Past Part Two: I'm Pregnant? So Yeah, I like writing about the past in this case because not many people do that so I thought: "Hey! I should write about their past!" But just tell me what you think and I'll SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	11. A Journey Into the Past PART 2

Chapter 11: A Journey into the Past Part 2: I'm Pregnant?

Stein's POV

The pale light of the dawn snuck through my bedroom window. I slowly opened my tired eyes when I couldn't find the warmth of Sanguine's body. She wasn't in the room. The door was open, but only by a crack. I looked up at the stitched ceiling. I remembered how it had started, with a kiss. Sweat had coated all parts of my bare body. My hair stuck to my face and the back of my neck. I sat up, allowing the sheets to fall off of my body. I grabbed my gray stitched boxers off of the floor before slipping them on and walking into the bathroom. My eyes went to the mirror where I could closely view my reflection. Dark circles lined my bloodshot eyes. Sure enough, my entire body was slightly glossed with a sheen of sweat. My hair was REALLY messy, and there were tiny red scratches across my chest where she had dug her nails into me. I probably needed to shower, but I felt like we had to talk first, because it was likely that she was just as confused as I was.

I walked back into the bedroom and slipped my gray and black stitched t-shirt on. It was time to talk.

Sanguine's POV

I sat on the couch, wearing a black tank top and red shorts. My soaked red and black hair tossed over one of my shoulder. I had woken up fairly early and showered before Stein was even awake. I know, all the rules say that your supposed to stay until both of you are awake. Well, what rule haven't I broken, so I say "Screw that Rule".

I had made coffee for Stein. Usually I would have taken some too, but I felt like I was going to throw up. What had brought all of that on? I never even got that impression on him. I never thought that I liked him. And I most certainly did not think that we would ever do….um…..that.

I heard Stein get up and pour himself some coffee. My body tensed as he sat next to me,

"M-morning," I sighed, standing up and walking towards my bedroom.

"Were are you going San?" He asked, sipping his coffee.

"I'm going to hang out with Kami today," I left the room, leaving Stein on the couch. Avoiding the whole "Why did we have Sex" conversation entirely.

One week Later….

Stein's POV

"I'm telling you, Spirit, it's to awkward to be in the same room as her and it's insane!" I sat in his living room. I sat on his couch with my forehead in my hands, letting my silvery hair slide in between my fingers. Spirit sat in an old arm chair at the corner of the room, looking at me with a head tilted to the side.

"Dude, you guys just need to talk. I mean this happened with Kami and me once, and look where we are now."

"But I don't want to be in the position your in, Spirit. I don't even understand what I feel for her!" I looked up at him. Thank God it was only us in the house, because the baby would've screamed had she heard me shout. She was with Kami and San.

Spirit stood and lightly hit me on the head, "It's called Love."

"Love?" I shook my head, "That can't possibly be it."

Sanguine's POV

"Kami," We sat outside a Death Bucks café, Maka sitting in Kami's lap, "I don't feel right."

"We've already discussed this. It's normal to feel strange after your first time," She sighed, sticking a bottle into Maka's tiny mouth, "Besides, you still haven't talked to him about it yet."

"No, Kami, This is different," I sat my head on the table, "I feel horrible."

"Maybe you should go home and rest for a while," She said, a worried expression on her face. I hated that, I hated it when she worried.

"Yeah," I stood up, tossing my black shoulder bag over my shoulder, "See you, Kami."

I began to walk slowly down the street towards the stitched gray house. I felt like I needed to lie down.

Stein's POV

I stepped into my dark house only to find San lying tiredly on the couch. She starred at the ceiling with a blank expression on her face as she hung her head back tiredly.

She looked up, "Hey Stitches."

I felt some relief fall over me when I heard her talk to me directly, "Hey San.."

She sat up on the couch, "Umm….Can we talk?"

"I was actually about to ask the same thing," I sighed, sitting next to her on the couch.

After I sat down there was a long awkward pause, like neither if us could think on how to start.

"Hey, Stein," She looked up at me with those bloody colored eyes, "What do you think of me?"

"Your probably my best friend, San," I looked at her curiously, "What do you think of me, San?"

"I-I like you friend wise," She studied my face closely, "Stein, if we only like each other in a friend way. Then what caused us to-"

"I don't know," I stood back up, " I'm gonna cook some food for supper, anything sound good?" I asked walking into the kitchen.

"Just reheat the pizza from last night. It's fine."

I grabbed the pizza out of the fridge and sat it on a tray in the oven. Then as soon as it began to reheat, Sanguine jumped up and ran into the bathroom.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Sanguine's POV

I flushed the toilet. The vomiting had caught me off guard. I couldn't be that sick. I went over to the sink, rinsing out my mouth. That's when I saw Stein at the doorway. He leaned against the frame.

"You okay, San?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

I nodded after spitting the water into the sink, "Yeah, I've just been kinda feeling sick lately." I went to leave, but he blocked the door with his body.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm fine! Now where is that pizza? I'm starving."

I turned to leave but he grabbed my shoulder, "San? How the hell can you be starving? You just threw up!"

"I just am! Now let me have food!"

He spun me around to face him, "San, this is serious."

"What?" I was getting kind of pissed that he was keeping me form my food so long.

"What if your pregnant?' He asked, seriousness edging in his voice.

Stein's POV

I was completely serious. This couldn't be taken lightly, not in the least. Yet she laughed a small, nervous laugh.

"Pregnant? That's a funny one Stein."

My eyes narrowed, "San, It's not funny. What if I got you pregnant?" Alarm now edged in my voice as I shook her lightly.

"I highly doubt that you knocked me up, because we used protection, right?"

I looked at my feet in guilt. I felt really bad now, this was my fault.

"Oh," Her voice dropped.

I released her shoulders, "I'm going to the store, behave while I'm gone."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," She groaned, walking into the living room and plopping onto the stitched couch.

I groaned and pulled on my lab coat as I walked out into the night. I had a feeling that I wouldn't get much sleep tonight.

Later….

Sanguine's POV

I sat on the countertop of the bathroom next to the test. It would be ready soon. It was like suddenly the world had fallen onto me. I might be pregnant. Worse, I might be pregnant with my partner's child. Usually I'd have absolutely nothing wrong with that, but the thought that I'd had physical relations with my partner still mad me feel strange. Then my mental timer went off, indicating that the test was ready. I picked it up, covering the result with my hand. I didn't want to look, but at the same time, I felt like I had to. I slowly moved my palm to reveal a small red plus. It. Was. Positive.

The world around me froze and I couldn't breathe. What was my name? How old was I? Why did this test say positive?

Then there was a soft knock on the door, pulling me back to Earth's surface, "San, how's it coming?"

I gulped, "Stein?" My voice was shaky.

"Yeah?"

"How accurate are these things?" I asked, my voice catching in my throat. This had to be a nightmare. This couldn't be real.

"Very accurate. Why? What does it say?"

The door cracked open and he poked his silver haired head in curiously. I sat frozen on the counter, still petrified. This was wrong. So, so, so, very, very wrong. This had to be some kind of sick joke. This couldn't possibly be real.

He picked up the test in his hand and said it's answer out loud, "Positive," He looked over at me as I still sat on the counter, "Your pregnant."

I nodded my head miserably. It wasn't like me to cry, but the tears began to trickle down my face now.

"San," He sat next to me on the counter and pressed my head to his shoulder, "I know we may be only friends, but were something else now. Were going to be parents. I don't want you to worry. Were going to be alright, San." His soothing words sunk into my skull.

"Stein? Is it a boy or a girl?"

"Girl," He said almost instantly, "I just know it's a girl."

"What's her name?" I asked as if this thing inside me was already born.

"Ryuka," He said in a calm voice, "That's what sounds nice to me."

"Ryuka? That name is strange."

"Ryu means life, and Ka means beauty. "Life Beauty.""

I smiled as I thought about this child. This would be hard, but I thought that we could pull through.

A/N: YAY! *happy dance* ALL DONE! These were fun to write but now I must move on with the story. I have an question that only my true fans of this story can answer ! So what has been the Funniest? Strangest? Saddest? Mushiest? And Bestest parts of the Story so far? Tell me in the REVIEW! I LOVE REVIEWS! Sorry if the chapter was too short. What style of my writing is your favorite? Sorry that I'm asking so many questions, I just need inspiration. Um….I think I may write two new Soul Eater fanfics. Here's the Idea for each one:

Madness: When Marie Mjolnir moves into Death City and finds herself working at Death Bucks café, she meets one customer in particular that strikes her interest, Franken Stein. After getting to know him, she moves into his place and comes to realize that it is overrun with his "Experiments" in other words, most of the children Soul Eater cast in hospital clothes and their Stein's servants and lab rats. But what will Marie do to help these poor teens in their place of Struggle. NO THAT ONE IS NOT A ROMANCE IT IS A HORROR STORY!

Sakura Mjolnir, The eight year old Death Scythe: At around seven years old, Sakura Mjolnir became the youngest Death Scythe to graduate from the DWMA. But that is only because both of her parents are Death Scythes as well. She is Marie and Spirit's Secret child, who was born out of a love affair against Kami.

Well, how do those sound? Oh! The next Chapter is called: Misunderstood. Anyway, SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	12. Misunderstanding

Chapter 12: Misunderstanding

Ryuka's POV

I looked at the new boy that sat by Maka with care. He wore a long black dress with long black sleeves. His eyes were a powder blue, and his hair a pale pink and chopped in VERY uneven layers. His name was Chrona, and he didn't know how to deal with things. He didn't know how to deal with other people well. He didn't know how to deal with Sid because he was blue. He didn't know how to deal with Kid because he was always spazzing about symmetry. He didn't know how to deal with Stein because he had a screw through his head. He didn't know how to deal with my mom because….well I think you get the idea.

All of us sat in the infirmary with Maka as she sat in her bed, paralyzed temporarily because of her last mission. The bell rang and all of us left for the end of the day, besides Soul, who would be leaving in around an hour. All of us said our farewells to Maka and headed out to the courtyard.

Death the Kid's POV

Ryuka and I walked hand in hand down the hall way towards the schools exit. Her palms were cool as the pressed lightly to mine. She smiled, a soft dance of her lips, a smile that made my heart nearly fly out of my chest.

"Ryuka," I stopped us both, "I have to meet with my father about something important. Go home without me, okay? I'll be home for supper." I smiled at her softly.

"Okay, Kid," She leaned in and gave me a soft peck on the lips before taking off cheerfully towards the end of the hall, only to stop and wave once she reached the end of it. I waved back and then turned towards the Death Room. This was one talk I really did not want to have with my father.

Ryuka's POV

I smiled and hummed a random tune in my head after I reached the courtyard. I loved the idea of us together. Kid and I holding hands down the hall. Kid and I being together. It was just everything about him made me tick. His cute obsession with symmetry. Those stripes. His cool fingertips. The way he always smelled like spearmint and clean clothes whenever I hugged him. The way he looked at me and the way he always brushed a few strands of hair from my face. He was perfect.

"L-leave me alone. I don't know how to deal with this!" I heard a small cry come from behind me. It was Chrona. Two guys had him pinned to the wall. I knew this could only get worse. Being the new kid was hard enough, but Chrona was a guy that looked like a really skinny girl with pink hair. I know that it sounds mean, but it's the truth.

"Hey!" I dropped my bag and pulled one of the guys away from Chrona, making them both look at me, "Leave him alone!"

"Ohhh!" Then one holding Chrona by the collar dropped the frail boy to the ground, "And what are you gonna do about it, bitch?"

This was not good. Kid was going to be mad if I got into a fight, but I couldn't leave Chrona defenseless, especially when Maka wasn't here to help.

" I wouldn't say that man," The other one said, a joint poking out of his teeth, "That's the Reaper's Girl."

"Oh," The other one twisted his cal and leaned towards me, "Well that changes things."

"What are you-AHHHHH!" The one with the cap grabbed be by the chin and tilted my head up.

"You know, the bitch is pretty," He said to the one with the joint, examining my face, "Maybe we should take her for a ride."

I slapped his hand off of me, "Bastards! Leave me alone!" I shouted, stepping back.

"Ohhh!" The capped one called, "Bitch has a mouth, and spunk."

Chrona looked at me with his powder eyes, "L-l-leave her a-alone!"

"What'd u say? Huh, Pink Hair?" The jointer said, picking Chrona up.

"Put him down," I growled.

"Why should I?" He asked, spitting his joint into the grass.

"I told you to PUT HIM DOWN!" I barked, anger flaring in my voice.

"Fine, Bitch!" He hissed back, tossing Chrona into the near by fountain.

"Chrona!" I shouted. Then my father came rolling down the sidewalk towards us. Sanguine walking at his side. The two boys bolted at the sight of him, leaving me to fish Chrona's unconscious body out of the fountain.

Death the Kid's POV

I really didn't want to be here. I really, REALLY didn't want to be here. But I especially did not want to be here having this particular talk with my father. I was sixteen for symmetry's sake! And I did not, may I repeat, DID NOT need the sex lecture from my father.

"Now, son," The reaper sat a hand on my shoulder, "Your getting to that age where your going to start having…urges."

"Dad!" I knew I was blushing.

"But you have to maintain enough control to remember to use protection."

"DAD!" This was awful. Why did I have to have this talk with him when I had it in health just about every year since I turned twelve?

"You have a girlfriend now and you need to know these things!" His arms were flailing up into the air, "Plus, you're a Shinigami and your urges tend to be a little more….controlling."

"Okay! I've had enough!" I stood up and began to exit the room.

"Kid! Stay here! We aren't done talking!" He called. Then I regretfully turned around to face him. I didn't want to be here, but I didn't want to be pestered about it later on. Or even worse, during school.

"What?" I hissed at him, my head hanging down.

"I got you something," He reached into his pocket (Does Shinigami-Sama have pockets?) and pulled out a small black and white square package.

"DAD! NO!" I already knew what it was as he pulled the condom into full view.

"It'll help me to know that you have something to stay safe," He insisted, pushing the thing at me. I already had four of them because they passed them out each year at the annual "Talk". Might as well add to my collection.

"Fine," I hissed, taking the package from his hand and stuffing it into my pocket.

"And Kid," He called as I turned to leave, "For God's sake, be sure to be safe. If you get her pregnant, who knows what Stein and Sanguine will do to you."

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Ryuka's POV

Chrona lay unconscious on my bed, still in his sopping wet clothes. Patty was downstairs, Liz was out shopping and Kid wasn't back yet. I couldn't leave Chrona in these wet clothes. He'd get sick. But I couldn't…Gah! How the hell am I supposed to do this?

"What am I gonna do?" I asked out loud, resting my head in my palms. Then Patty poked her head in the door.

"What's wrong, Ryu-Chan?" She asked. I hated her nickname for me, but at the same I kind of liked it. It was like the name that a small child could be given. It made me feel like Patty liked me though, so I managed to tolerate it.

"Chrona's in wet clothes, and I can't let him get sick," I sighed tapping my chin.

"Well," She tilted her head to the side, "Why can't Chrona change into some dry clothes?" She asked curiously. It struck me off that she didn't even ask why he was here in the first place, but I guess she either didn't really care, or she was to young to really make note of it.

"Patty, that's the problem," Her blue eyes swam with curiosity, "Chrona is unconscious."

"Oh," Realization had now set in on her, " Then I'm just going to….um….go now."

"Patty, wait, could you please-" but the young girl was already gone.

I sighed before walking back towards Chrona. One of the last things that I wanted to do was change Chrona's clothes for him. I had never seen a guy naked before, but I couldn't let Chrona get sick either. I took a deep breath before sliding off Chrona's shoes and socks. So much for the easy part, now all I had to do was take hid dress and underwear off. I slowly sat my fingers under the hem of his dress and pulled it up until I got to his hips, then I sat him up and pulled the dress the rest of the way off of his body.

He was so skinny. No. Skinny wasn't the word to use here. He was a frail stick. Almost all bones with just enough muscle to allow himself to move. He was the palest person I had ever seen. Heck, he was paler that Kid was. But Chrona's pale was an almost sickening shade. Like he was severely ill.

I looked at his underwear. Thank God. They weren't wet at all. I didn't have to take those off. I walked over to my drawer and got a pair of black flannels and a white t-shirt. It was more difficult getting the shirt on him. Then I slowly towel dried his choppy pink hair. I looked at him carefully. My clothes fit loosely on his stick-like body. I picked him up carefully and with ease before carrying him to the living room and sitting on the couch. I rested his head on my lap, stroking his still damp hair. I would make sure that he was awake before taking him back to the DWMA. I flicked on the T.V. and decided to settle on Get Backers. I loved this show, but I had to laugh quietly. (A/N: I really do recommend Get Backers to anybody who is reading this who hasn't watched it. It's Hysterical, but it can still be serious at the same time and it's JUST PLAIN COOL!)

Death the Kid's POV

I walked down the streets of Death City, headed towards home. The sun had begun to set, painting the sky a deep red-orange. I could see drool dripping off of the edge of the Sun's mouth. I nearly laughed at the site of it. The sun was trying to fight off sleep and failing miserably.

I couldn't wait to get home. I couldn't wait to see Ryuka. But most of all, I couldn't wait to get the idea of Dad's talk out of my head. I turned onto the path that lead to the front door. After pulling out my key, I slid the black metal into the lock and turned it to open the door. Ryuka sat on the couch, watching Get Backers, with Chrona's head resting in her lap. Wait, why was he even here? And why was his head in my girlfriend's lap?

"What's going on in here?" I asked coolly, trying to hide the jealousy and anger in my voice. I didn't succeed.

"Oh! Hey Kid!" Ryuka smiled as she continued to stroke Chrona's head.

"Don't just say so casually, 'Oh! Hey Kid!' ," I hissed back, glaring at Chrona.

"What do you mean? I don't understand. Kid, did I do something?" She asked so innocently.

"What is he doing here?" I asked, not even trying to hide the anger in my voice now.

"Oh, Chrona? I brought him home with me."

"Why would you?"

"He was thrown into a fountain, Kid! I couldn't just leave him unconscious!" She said in response, obviously becoming irritated at my constant questioning and snapping.

"Whatever!" I groaned walking into the kitchen.

Chrona sat up, "W-where am I?" He asked, looking around the room. Then he saw both Ryuka and I glaring at each other.

"I-I'm sorry!" He said, getting up and heading out the door, "I-I'll go!"

"Chrona! Wait!" Ryuka called. But the pinkette had already walked out the door. Then she turned and glared at me, "What the hell was that all about, Kid?" She asked, anger spilling through her words.

"What was he doing here?"

" I already told you," Her eyes were narrowing as she stood and placed her hands on her hips, "He was pushed into a fountain and unconscious, Kid!"

"But why was his head on your lap!" I snapped.

"You know what!" She said marching towards the stairs, "I don't want to talk about this!"

"Fine!" I shouted back, "Go up to your room! I don't even care!"

"Okay then! I will!"

"Good!"

"Good!"

"Fine!"

"Fine!" I shouted a I watched her go up the stairs.

A/N: Yay! Finally done with this chapter! I'm sorry it's so late, I got busy. So anyway, their dating and going through their first big fight. OHHH! THE SUSPENSE! Um…anyway, the next chapter is called: Apology. I bet you can guess what happens there…..I have one request for all of you readers….REVIEW! I want to know what is going on inside those heads of yours. Tell me what you think SERIOUSLY! So… I WILL SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	13. Apology

Chapter 13: Apology

Ryuka's POV

"Ryuka, I'm impressed," Liz said as we sat down in her room. It had been a week since Kid had accused me. A week since I had spoken to him, "You two haven't spoken in a week."

I folded my arms over my chest, "He can apologize whenever he is ready. It isn't my fault if the boy is stubborn."

Liz laughed softly, "At least your set strait. None of this is your fault. You were only trying to help Chrona."

I nodded, "Exactly, he's the one that went on assuming things."

I can't say that I didn't miss having Kid with me. I really did. I just didn't want to be around him if he didn't trust me. In school I still had to sit next to him in class, but at lunch, I ate outside on the roof. I liked being up there alone. Occasionally, Maka or Grey would eat up there with me. I liked talking to them. It always seemed like they were there to listen.

I knew that tomorrow, one of us would have to break the ice. But for some reason, I was almost afraid I would fall through it.

Next Day About Ten minutes before lunch, so their still in class….

Ryuka's POV

I sat as close to Tsubaki and as far away from Kid as I possibly could. I had no desire to sit as close to him as I normally did, but at the same time, I wouldn't of minded it the only available seat for me was on his lap. I wanted this fight to be over, but I needed Kid to end it because I knew that I couldn't. The bell rang and I immediately ran out of the room. The roof. I was eating on the roof with Grey today.

Grey's POV

I rested my hands on the lining of the roof, looking out at the spectacular Death City. It was so beautiful. The wind blew my timber wolf bangs over my eyes. Today I was going to eat lunch with Ryuka. I heard the door open, revealing my red faced partner. She closed the door and slid down it, landing with her back pressed against it. She sighed, hanging her head down. The after a moment she looked up at me.

"Hey, Grey," She stood and walked over to her shaded corner, and turned on her heal before sitting and patting the place next to her. I sat down beside her as she pulled two apples and a bottle of water from her bag. She tossed one apple towards me before biting into the other.

"Hey, Ryuka," I smiled at her, catching the apple in my palms, "How are you doing today?"

"Good," She took a sip of her water, "I just want everything to go back to the way it's supposed to be."

I bit my tongue. I liked things the way they were now. I liked being able to spend time alone with Ryuka. I liked things like this. I liked her with me instead of him. I thought she was better with me. Even if I knew she didn't think the same way.

"I suppose," I sighed, "That would be best."

Her eyes widened as she looked at me, "Grey?" Her hand, on her own instinct, went on mine, "Is something the matter?"

I stood up, walking towards the lining of the roof, "It's nothing," I starred out at open sky and the busy city.

"Don't lie to me, Grey," She now stood at my side, "I can read you better than you think."

"It's just," I sat my hand on hers, "Is that really what you want?" I looked into her olive-gold eyes, "To be with him?"

She nodded, "I don't understand, Grey," Her hand trembled beneath mine, "Why are you asking?"

"Ryuka," My forehead pressed to hers, "You can read my mind, right?" Her eyes widened in response. Then I pressed my lips to hers.

Ryuka's POV

He was…..kissing…..me. And I was…kissing…him back.

_No, this is wrong. I don't feel this way about Grey. I don't love him in this manor. I…..I love Kid. _I love Kid.

I pushed Grey away, slapping my hand over my mouth. My hands were trembling. I love Kid.

"What's wrong?" Grey asked, looking at me quizzically. Without a word, I slapped him, hard. The sound echoed across the roof. I turned and left, only stopping to pick up my bag. I didn't care if it was only noon, I was going home.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Death the Kid's POV

I sat at the table between Tsubaki and Liz. I poked absently ay my lunch. Every sound around me blurred. It was like the world was collapsing around me. Ryuka refused to speak to me, and the worse part was that I didn't blame her. This was all my fault. If I hadn't just assumed things, we wouldn't be in this mess.

"Kid? Kid, are you listening to me?" Liz asked, her voice slapping reality back into me.

I looked up from my food to my partner, "Hm?"

"Ryuka won't talk to you until you apologize, you know that right?" She asked, looking at me critically.

"Liz," I picked up my tray, "I don't feel so good. I'm going home," I sighed exiting the room, not waiting to hear her response.

Ryuka's POV

I let the nearly scalding water of the shower pour over my naked body. The steam in the room was so thick that I could hardly see. My fingers brushed my lips. _Why did I…..kiss him back?_

I shook my head, I couldn't think about that now. I turned off the water and grabbed a white towel off of the rack, securing it onto my body. I heard the front door open. Who was that? I walked out of the bathroom in only my towel and headed to the stairs. I saw Kid lying down on the couch. I covered my mouth and stepped back into the hallway. What was he doing home? I raced to my room silently. I couldn't let him see me in just a towel.

I slipped the towel off and put on a black bra, black underwear, a long-sleeved black button down top, and my usual, black mid-thigh length skirt. I pulled my hair back in a braid. I took my towel back to the bathroom and set it lightly on the rack. I walked barefoot down the hall, feeling the soft white carpet between my toes. I was finally at the edge of the stairs. I walked down them silently, watching Kid on the couch. Once down the steps, I walked silently behind him and wove my fingers into his hair.

"Mmmmmm," Kid moaned, his eyes closed, "That feels so good, Ryuka."

I couldn't tell if he was asleep or awake, but I continued to intertwine my fingers into his hair. I smiled, "It does?"

"Ahhhh," He sighed, "Ryuka, that feels…."

I smiled, "Good?"

"Mmmmmm," His eyes opened, "Ryuka?"

"Yeah," I said, looking into his golden eyes.

"I'm sorry," He said, placing his hands on either side of my face, "I'm sorry for shouting at you last week. I-I just want us back the way we were. Can you forgive me?"

I nodded, touching his hand with one of my own, "Of course. It was starting to hurt, not talking to you."

He pressed his cool lips to mine, melting me, moving me against his body. Then he pulled away, resting his forehead on mine. I sat next to him on the couch now, "I'm glad. That you aren't so mad that you can't forgive me," He said before pressing his lips to mine again. I pulled myself onto his lap, lacing my fingers into his hair. He carefully slid me off of his lap, and spread my legs with his knees. His fingers worked the buttons on my shirt, sliding it off of me. I felt his cool fingers run up my back, tracing my spine and each curve. I had his white shirt pulled off as well. I ran my fingers up and down his cool, chiseled chest. It was as if he were carved from stone, but his skin was baby soft and smooth. His hands ran around my stomach, lightly running his finger around the edge of my stitches and then ever so gently touching my scar. I knew where this was going. I wanted to stop, but at the same time, I didn't.

Kid stroked my inner thighs with his cool fingers, that brought me back into reality.

"K-kid," I broke the deep kiss, "I-I'm sorry, but I can't, not now. I don't feel ready yet."

Our foreheads were rested together, "It's okay," My fingers marveled over his stripes, "I can wait as long as you need," He said, moving his legs away from mine. We lie back down on the couch. I rested my head on his bare chest, and he wrapped his arms around my body.

"Hey, Kid?" I asked, tracing small, swirling patterns across his chest, "I love you."

He kissed the top of my head, "I love you, too."

"Lets, put our clothes back on," I sighed, sitting up, "It's not that I don't like your body. It's that I don't want Liz and Patty to walk in and see us like this."

"You have a point there," He said, grabbing my shirt an sliding it over my body and doing up the buttons before grabbing his own shirt, "You wanna go out tonight? Just me and you?" he asked, standing up and stretching.

"No," I said taking his hand and pulling him into the kitchen, "I want us to cook our own food."

A/N: I know that this chapter was WAY shorter than normal, but it had a lot of things in it. They almost…..yeah. I want to say thank you to those who are reviewing my work! YAY TO ALL OF YOU! The next Chapter is going to be called: In my Heart . I want to know what you think of this chapter as well and I have a question for all my REVIEWERS! Am I any good at writing heated scenes like in this chapter? AND Should I write them more often? REVIEW! REVIEW! REVIEW! See you all in the next Chapter!


	14. In My Heart

Chapter 14: In my Heart

Death the Kid's POV

Thank God for Saturdays. I lie down in my bed, letting the sun run over my bare chest, shining into my eyes. I rested my arm over my forehead, blocking some of the sun from blinding me. My other arm was around Ryuka, her head lie on my chest. I ran my fingers across the back edge of her tank top. She had snuck in sometime late last night, probably around midnight. I took in the scent of her hair. She smelled like French vanilla. I felt her slowly exhale. At least she was sleeping.

I thought about what had happened earlier this week. How we almost…..did it. Was this what my father had been talking about? Things that would make me act so suddenly. To tell the truth all of that had been on complete instinct.

"Uhn…" Ryuka groaned, clutching the sheets beside her, "Kid….."

I looked at her closely before answering, "I'm here. Is something the matter?"

She opened her eyes and looked blissfully into mine, "No," She breathed out, "I just love you."

I smiled and stroked her hair, "I know," I gently kissed her forehead, "You wanna do something today? Just me and you?" I asked softly, tracing her curves with my hand.

She pulled herself up, kissing me gently, moving my hand away from her waist, "I can't think clear when you do that," She said, resting her forehead on mine, "It makes my heart do way to fast, and all the blood goes to my head."

I smirked, locking my eyes on hers, "It does now?"

She nodded, a blush now clearly showing on her pale face. I loved doing this. Making her face flush the way that it was now, sent a thrill through me.

"I think doing something alone and together," She sat up, allowing the satin black sheets to fall off of her in a cascade. Her hair trailed over her shoulders, concealing the strip of her upper back that I was able to see, "Would be nice."

I was finally able to see what she had been wearing. She wore one of her usual black spaghetti-strap tops, except this one showed the lower parts of her flat stomach. Along with the cotton top, she wore a pair of smoke gray short shorts. My heart almost stopped at the sight of her, as she stood up to stretch. I liked the way she looked right after she got out of bed. Wait, that sounded really wrong. We didn't-urg, never mind.

I smiled at her, liking her response, "What should we do?" I asked, getting up out of the bed. I wore only my black boxers.

"Well," She tapped her chin, "We could go the park. Dinner and a movie. We could just do whatever. As long as I'm with you, I don't really care."

I felt my cheeks grow hot. I had been with her for a while and she could still make me blush. I couldn't say that I was unable to do the same to her though. It was easy to turn her face that adorable shade of pink.

"The park sounds nice," I put my hands behind my head, "What do you say? We'll walk for a while, then a movie. I know you like Olive Garden. We could go there for supper."

She smiled, "Sounds perfect," She picked up her black robe from the floor and slid it on, "I'm going to go shower," She walked over to me and kissed me softly. She pulled away and rested her head on my neck, "See you in a bit, Kiddo." She turned and left, smiling at me before leaving my room, and my racing heart.

Ryuka's POV

Don't take this the wrong way when I say that Liz gets on my nerves. She's like my sister and one of my best friends, but it starts to get annoying when she teases you about your boyfriend all the time. Especially in situations like this one.

I walked out of Kid's bedroom, hair messy because it was un-brushed, and I wore probably the most skimpy pajama's that I owned. This looked bad, I already knew that, but only Liz would suspect that we did it. She stood outside the door, leaning against the wall with her arms folded over her chest. When I walked out of the room she arched her eyebrow.

"Have a fun night?" She asked, looking over me, as if she were checking for a change.

"Liz we didn't-"

"Have Sex?" She asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

"No," I shook my head, "I told Kid that I wasn't ready for that yet. Were waiting."

"Wow," She shook her head, "He's willing to wait for you to be ready, hm?"

I nodded, "Is that so weird?"

"Yeah, it kinda is," she walked down the hall, "He's sixteen and he can maintain control of his Shinigami hormones. That's impressive."

Before I could even ask what she meant by that, she had gone into her room. Shinigami hormones? Were his hormones more forceful then a regular human's? I walked into the bathroom, still wondering. That would make sense, the way it just sort of happened last week, but if it was true, then waking up this morning had to had been torture to him. I discarded my clothes into the hamper, except for my robe which now sat on the counter. I stepped into the shower, allowing the heated water to run over my body, changing my skin pink. I ran my fingers through my soaked hair. Kid, I knew, loved the way my hair felt in his fingers. Then I ran my fingers over my lips.

I had been avoiding Grey since that kiss. I just didn't want to be around him right now. He'd just talk about how I'm still with Kid. I slumped forward and sat on the floor of the shower, allowing myself to be pelted with boiling rain. This was wrong, so wrong. What do I feel for Grey?

The water was cold. I didn't notice until it was freezing. I turned off the shower and stepped out, drying with a white towel before slipping on my robe. I looked at my reflection. The dark circles were gone. But then I noticed something I hadn't before.

I was crying.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Ryuka's POV

I stepped down the stairs, wearing a charcoal bell-sleeved blouse and a pair of nice black dress pants and my boots. I felt nice and ready for the day to start. After my small breakdown in the bathroom, I needed to just spend time with Kid. He wore a black button-down shirt with nice gray pants. We matched.

I smiled as he took my hand in his, "All set?" He asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, patting my purse, "Lets go."

Grey's POV

I loved the park on overcast day. I sat perched up in a large willow tree, a gray dove rested on my right hand. I lightly stroked the small birds head, feeling its softness beneath my fingertips.

"But I don't understand why she can't just at least accept the fact that I'm in love with her," I sighed, looking at the small bird, "She doesn't have to love me back, but I at least want her to understand." The bird tilted it's tiny head to the side, "Yeah," I sighed, "I forgot that you can't understand me."

I tossed my hand outward, letting the small bird fly off. I smiled. This was one of the few places I didn't have to cut myself away from everyone else. I could just be me.

"Big Brother!" And watch Silver, "Big Brother! Come here! Look it!"

I dropped down to the ground and walked over to my six year old sister. Ten years younger and me and she somehow managed not to be a pain in my ass. In fact, Silver was probably one of the best things in my life. After mom and dad died, I had to take care of her, but she tolerated me. In fact, I was pretty sure that she adored me. I walked over to her as she sat on the ground.

"What is it, Silver?" I asked squatting down to her size. She looked so much like me that it was insane. She had cold black eyes and long timber wolf hair that fell to her shoulder blades.

"Look it!" She pointed at a large patch of daffodils, "Aren't they pretty?"

"They sure are," I rubbed the top of her head, "Like you are sweetie."

She laughed and picked them with her careful hands. "What are you doing, Hon?" I asked.

"Momma's favorites are daffodils," She said in a serious voice, "I wanna give them to her."

Their death had been so sudden. It was a car crash. I remembered Silver crying for days and not letting go of me. Now, it seemed like that she had to go to the graveyard everyday to see them. To talk to them. I was scared of the way that she would turn out, but she was still as cheerful as she had been before.

After a moment, she had at least twenty of them in her small hand. She clutched my fingers in her other hand and we began to walk in the direction of the park's exit. Then I saw a familiar face walking towards us.

It was Ryuka and Kid. He had his arm around her and she was smiling and walking beside her. I almost felt sick. "Come on Sil," I tugged her in another direction, "Let's go the other way."

"Why?" She asked, "It's shorter to go this way," And then she ran into my black and silver haired partner.

Ryuka's POV

It was going great until a tiny body ran into my legs.

"Oh my God!" I bent down to the small girl's side, "Are you okay, Sweetheart?"

The tiny girl had a bunch of flowers in her hand. She sat up and rubbed her head, "Yeah. I'm okay, miss." She looked at me with dark eyes. Grey's eyes. Then I looked up to see my partner at the Girl's side as well. They had to be siblings, no doubt.

Kid knelt to my side, "Hey, Grey."

"Hi," Grey said coldly, helping up the girl, "Ryuka, Can we talk?"

Grey's POV

The two of us sat beneath my willow tree. It wasn't really mine, but I was here all the time, so I just called it that. I had left Silver with Kid. I trusted him enough to keep up with my sister. Now I could see the two of them roaming the fields looking for more daffodils. She led him around by his hand, laughing as he followed behind. I had my hand resting on Ryuka's.

"Isn't it nice," I asked, looking onto the field, "Being outside."

"Grey, I know that you don't want to talk about that."

I looked at her closely, "Ryuka, Do you understand how I feel?"

"Yes, Grey," She looked down, "I do."

"Why do you not feel the same way?"

She looked at me and smiled, "Because in my heart, I know, That your meant for someone else. I'm meant for Kid."

"Do you know who that would be?" I asked, looking at her eyes.

"You'll find her, Grey," She leaned in, "I know."

Then she pressed her lips to mine and I cradled her face. She kissed so soft, so giving, so….sad. This was goodbye to anything romantic between us. This was sealing off the past and putting us strictly as partners. She pulled away and stood up. Leaving me sitting at the base of the willow, clutching a daffodil in my hand.

A/N: All Done! We learned more about Grey! Hooray! I'm so happy that I finished! I almost cried when I finished typing it because it's sad! Um…..REVIEW FOR ME PWEASE! The next chapter is called The Party. SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	15. The Party

Chapter 15: The Party

Ryuka's POV

I really, really, REALLY hate Mondays. Then again, who doesn't? I thought I was a good student, so how did I end up in detention on a freaking Monday night? Actually I have an explanation for that. While I'm bored out of my mind in detention, I might as well tell you how I got into this hellhole.

My day hadn't been going well from the start. I get up only to find out that my period has started so I'm cramping really bad. This of course does not help when your out of Midol, Ibuprofen, and Tylenol. When your boyfriend is as rich as Kid is, you'd expect there to be one of these in the house. But, unfortunately, even Liz neglected to have cramp killers. So I already know I'm sounding bitchy, well I was in a bitchy mood so I don't really care at the moment.

We left the house with Kid's hands in his pocket. At least he understood that there was that time of month to where if he even thought about touching me, I'd rip out his eyes and shove them down his throat so he could watch in horror as I ripped his body asymmetrically. I know, I really sound like a blood-crazed bitch, but that's who I was right now.

When we showed up for class, to my disliking, Spirit was teaching today. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on this, because truth be told, I don't think I'm sure I remember exactly how it happened. But in the end, I had Spirit pinned to the ground in a choke hold, and it took Kid, Soul, Maka, Tsubaki, Liz, Stein, and Sanguine to get me off of the irritating red head. And that is basically how I got detention. Periods suck. End of discussion.

So here I was, with my head on my desk, bored out of my ever-loving mind. I was the only person in here, other than my father. I had no idea what time it was, but it was the latest I'd ever been at school, other than when I had to spend the night here. The sun had set and I really just wanted to go home. The worst part, I STILL HAD THE MOST HORRIBLE CRAMPS IN ALL OF DEATH CITY!

"Dad…." I groaned, "Can we go now?" I was actually tempted to just crash on his couch tonight. Despite that madness was creeping up onto him. Despite the fact that I could wind up dismembered. I just wanted to sleep. Then before I knew it, I actually was asleep.

_Why is it so dark? I can't see in what's right in front of me. Ung….Where the hell am I?_

"Ryuka!"

_Is that Grey? It sounded like his voice, but it was almost muffled._

"Ryuka! Go! Run!" That _was_ Grey. But, what was going on? What was chasing me?

"Grey? Where are you? I can't see anything," I said trying to feel around where I was, finding nothing but cold empty space.

"No," I heard him breath out, "Ryuka…don't."

His voice was sounding weaker with each word. I staggered forward and fell to my knees. I could hear Grey breathing right in front of me. I sat my hands on what appeared to be his chest, but something felt wrong. I pulled my hands away and they were wet. My eyes had adjusted and I could see the dark liquid on my hands. I could smell his blood.

"G-Grey," My choked voice strangled as I clung to him. I could feel the tears leaking off of my face, "W-what's happening?"

I felt his arm weakly touch my face and wipe a tear away, "I-It's alright, Ryuka," His voice managed to croak out, "Just go."

"I can't just leave you here for dead," I sobbed, clinging to his blood-covered chest, "Grey…." But I couldn't hear his breathing any more.

"Ryuka," My father shook my shoulder, "Ryuka, wake up. Ryuka?"

I sat up and wiped the tears from my eyes. "Ryuka, What's wrong?"

"Dad?" I looked up at him, "How do you save the person that means a piece of the world to you?"

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Death the Kid's POV 

It's amazing how your girlfriend's attitude can improve in five short days. Monday, She was the enemy of the world. And now, it was Saturday morning, and she had turned back into the sweetest girl a Shinigami could ask for.

Both of us sat up, awake in my bed. She had her head leaned against my shoulder. I felt her silky hair between my fingers. We had been together for four months now, and it seemed like the best four months of my life.

"Hey," She looked up at me, "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Remember, The party later?" I looked over at her.

"Oh, Yeah," She snuggled further to my chest, "Forgot about that."

"Yeah," I took in her scent, touching her skin. I felt my insides rage in fire. Curse these damned hormones. They always made this fire run through me when our contact was so _intimate._ I ran my hand along the curve of her side. Her face flickered pink and she sat her hand on my chest, near my heart.

"Kid," she lay her palm in the center of my chest, "Your heart is beating so fast."

I smiled and pressed my palm to the center of her chest, making her blush grow deeper and her eyes widen, "So is yours."

Ryuka's POV

I sat Liz's curling iron on the counter before flicking it off and looking at my reflection. My silver and black hair had been pulled back into ringlets. My bangs where smoothed down and I had left the two upper lengths out of the ponytail and had them in ringlets as well. I wore a white sleeveless dress that flowed down to my knees and had Vocaliod-style white sleeve things. I wore a pair of white flats.

I thought I looked cute. Liz had helped me find the dress. It was casual enough for this, but dressy at the same time. I tied a white ribbon around my neck, studying the Death City skull charm on the front of it. Kid had given it to me. I may be misunderstanding, but it seemed at the time as if this was his mark to claiming me. I sat my hand on the tiny white gold charm, feeling it's coolness between my fingers.

"You look beautiful," Kid said from the door way.

I smiled, "You look pretty nice yourself," He folded his arms over his chest. He wore a pair of black dress pants and a gray dress shirt with a pair of black suspenders holding a white Death City skull on each strap. He walked up behind me and entwined his arms around my waist. I blushed and traced his arms with my fingers. I rested my head on his shoulder, and then I felt his breath on my neck.

"You smell like orchids," He said after taking in the scent again, "New perfume?"

"Liz let me borrow some of hers."

Then I felt his lips on my neck, making me gasp, "Kid!"

He pulled away and looked at me apologetically, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. You have very soft skin on your neck, by the way."

Stein's POV

I have to admit that being in Kid's house after that last little incident was kind of awkward. San and I stood in the corner of the room. She had her arms folded over her chest. I think we were supposed to have dressed up, but neither of us got the memo. I held a cup of blue punch in my hand. The sugary drink tasted strange. I remembered drinking it when I was younger, but now it was just weird.

"So, Stitches," San said looking at me with her red eyes, "Do you think our daughter and three stripes have done anything yet?"

I shook my head, "That's gross, San."

"I mean their sixteen and fifteen. And with him being a Shinigami, he's more likely to try something."

"San," I insisted, "I really don't want that image in my mind, because it's disgusting."

"You just don't want to accept the fact that she might not be our little virgin daughter any more," she went on, smirking widely.

I bit my tongue to keep me from saying something vile. Of course, what she was saying was true. I didn't want to accept the fact that she may not be my little girl anymore. I hadn't ever been much of a father figure, but she was still my daughter. I just hoped that if her virginity was gone, they had been safe unlike me and San had.

Ryuka's POV

I walked down the stairs next to Kid. I was trying to smile, but it felt like I couldn't. I saw Grey in the crowd below. He wore a smoke gray button down shirt and a white jacket with matching dress pants. We matched. He gave me a soft smile, causing a thin blush to flick across my face. I had told him that he needed someone to call his own, so why was this happening to me?

The two of us stepped onto the dark, hardwood floor. I looked around, finding almost everybody from school here. Unfortunately, that included Spirit and Black*Star. But I could deal with them this evening, or at least I could try.

"H-Hey, R-Ryuk-ka," I turned to see Chrona in a white shirt and pants that matched. I hadn't ever seen him in pants before, but he looked really cute.

"Hey, Chrona. You look nice," I smiled at him, causing him to shakily smile back.

"Y-you do t-t-to," Chrona said in response.

"Hey, Ryuka?" I turned to see Grey, in his nice white clothes, smiling at me.

"Hey," I smiled back, "How's Silver?"

"Fine," He looked at me closely, "Can I talk to you?"

"Of course," I nodded at him. We walked over to one of the couches that Kid had pushed towards the sides of the room to make more room in the living room. I sat next to him and he looked at me with seriousness edging in his black eyes.

"I keep having these dreams," He looked down, "About me dying."

"I do too," I said, looking at my feet, "And it's scaring me."

"What?" He looked at me and his voice was in on a whisper, "But, does that mean-"

I felt a sudden splash of something cold and sticky hit me. I looked down to see myself covered in blue, sticky, punch.

"Sorry, Ryuka," Black*Star said, not sounding like he meant it at all. I smiled as falsely as I could, not giving him the satisfaction.

"It's alright. I'll just go wash it and change."

I stood up and headed for the stairs, plotting on how to get him back later. I grabbed my robe and a fresh long gray dress with undergarments and headed to the bathroom.

Death the Kid's POV

I was really mad at Black*Star. He spilled punch on my girlfriend, and I was pretty sure that he did it on purpose.

"SOUL, GUESS WHAT!" I heard him shout at the fluffy-haired scythe across the room.

"What is it?" Soul asked lazily.

"I GOT 'EM!" He said loudly before laughing loudly. Soul snickered as well. I felt anger boil inside of me as I wondered just what Black*Star got.

Ryuka's POV

"Liz, um, are you sure that this is all you have?"

"Sorry, but that's it," She sighed from the other side of the door. I looked a the skimpy black silk dress in my hands. I was really pissed at Black*Star because he'd spilt the punch on me AND now he had taken my clothes, leaving my with what Liz had.

I slid the black silk onto my body. It had thin straps to hold up the incredibly low neckline. The neckline stopped at almost the center of my chest. The hem of the dress was so short that it was difficult to move without flashing my underwear. It was see-through at my stomach, so all three sets of my stitches were visible. Liz had put heels that looked like they were made of black leather strings with the dress. I felt like a slut.

I held my breath and walked down the stairs.

Stein's POV

I was going to die on the spot. WHAT THE HELL IS SHE WEARING!

It was a slut dress! Did she use that for Kid? Disregard that last comment, I feel like I'm going throw up now that that thought is in my head. I saw Kid turn bright red and his jaw hit the floor.

"You know what?" Spirit said, drool dripping off of his chin.

"What?" San and I asked at the same time.

"Your daughter has a really nice body!"

At the same we both hit him in the face with a sharp fist. This was nasty.

A/N: All Done! Sorry it was late, I was busy! REVIEW PLEASE! The next chapter is called: Fate. SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	16. Fate

Chapter 16: Fate

A/N: _I'm sorry that the author's note at the beginning of this, but I won't be putting one at the end of this for certain reasons. But, I want to thank all of my readers and reviewers for being such a huge support to me and this story. I don't think I could've come this far without all of you. But ignore my rambling, just, here's the sixteenth chapter. Tell me what you think after your finish, please. I want to here your reviews. I'll see you all in the seventeenth chapter, okay?_

Grey's POV

I looked over my shoulder at Silver, who lay sleeping on the couch. She clutched her small leather bound journal to her chest. She smiled in her sleep as if she were dreaming something sweet. I loved my little sister. I walked over to the couch and looked at her, smiling. I bent down and kissed her forehead.

It was six in the morning, so the apartment was still dark. I pulled the white quilt to cover he body up the rest of the way. Her large, dark eyes opened and looked at me.

"Grey?" her small voice asked as she looked at me sleepy eyes, "What are you doing?"

"I've got to go, sweetie," I said, brushing her timber wolf hair out of her eyes.

She touched my hand with her tiny one, "Do you have a mission with Ryuka?"

I nodded, "I'll be back later tonight."

I started to stand, but then the six year old threw her arms around my neck, pulling her into my arms. I held her close to me, hugging her thin body.

"I worry about you, you know," She said clinging to me, "Every time you leave, Grey. I'm scarred that you won't come home, and I'll get a call. I don't want to be alone. Please just come back."

"I will, Sil. Come on, now," I pulled her close to me, "Don't cry."

She sniffled, "I love you, Brother."

"I love you too, Sis," I sat her back down on the couch, "I'll see you tonight."

"Just be safe, Grey," She kissed my cheek and let me pull the covers up around he tiny body. I smiled at her as I closed and locked the front door. Time to get to work.

Ryuka's POV

I held Grey's hand in mine as we stood before Lord Death in the Death Room. We had thirty six souls and were out to collect our thirty seventh. Our destination was downtown Tokyo, not too far from here. We only had one target, Yatsnuki Kirokutchi, the mass serial killer.

"Understood, Shinigami-Sama," Grey said, nodding at Lord Death, "We'll collect the damaged soul and report back by the end of the day."

"Alright you two," The reaper said looking at the two of us. Meister and Weapon. My partner and Me. Grey and I turned to leave but then the Shinigami's voice stopped us, "Wait a moment. Ryuka, can I talk to you alone?"

I nodded at Grey as he turned to leave, setting me alone in this room with Lord Death.

"Ryuka, I'm well aware of your conflicts in the current time," He said, studding my through his mask, "But I want to know how you plan to deal with them."

"I love Kid, you already know that, Sama," I said, looking down at my feet.

"Yes, I can tell that by the fact that your wearing the choker he gave you," My hand went to the white-gold skull charm that hung around my neck on the white ribbon, "It's a betrothal necklace, you know."

My eye's widened, "B-betrothal?"

"Ah, so he didn't tell you?" I looked at the Shinigami with curious eyes, "Yes, it is a betrothal necklace. That one was his mother's in fact. I don't think he was thinking of it at the time he gave it to you, but I'm not sure about now…."

"I'm only fifteen! He's only a year older than I am! Betrothal? What the hell is that?" I cried, pulling the necklace off and tossing it onto the floor.

"Calm down, Ryuka, I'm sure it wasn't meant in that way," He said, picking the thing up off of the floor, "And even if it was, It isn't unusual for a Shinigami to marry at a young age."

I fell to my knees, holding my chest in my folded arms. I felt tears trickle off of my face. This was too much, too fast. I had known him for five months and we had been dating for four. I couldn't be engaged to him. I loved him. I loved him so much, but this was more than I could bear right now.

"Ryuka, please," I felt the Shinigami's hand on my shoulder, "Just breathe."

I gasped in a lungful of air and managed to look at the reaper. He held out the choker in one of his over-sized hands. I took it and studied it in my palm through blurred vision. After a moment, I tied it back around my neck.

"I'll deal with this as it comes, Sama," I said, drying my eyes, "Right now I better get going."

"See you when you get back," The Shinigami nodded as I exited the Death Room.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Sanguine's POV

I loved how even though I had moved out of Stein's house thirteen years ago, my room still looked how I always left it. My walls were still blood red and splattered with silver, black, and white paint. My twin bed still had all of my black bedding on it. All seven hundred and thirteen of my guitar picks still littered the floor. My red electric guitar with the black flames still was in the corner of the room. I may have moved out all those years ago, but this was still home to me.

I opened my eyes and took in the atmosphere of my room. The only thing that was different since my teenage years, was the photographs that I kept on a black bulletin board on my closet door. The pictures were of Stein, Ryuka, and Me. I actually had a board just like this in my apartment back in West Asia.

I climbed out of bed and walked over to the board. I felt a smile come across my face as I looked at each photograph. There was Stein and I at graduation. There we were in the delivery room after Ryuka was born. The fireworks in town when Ryuka was three. My twenty sixth birthday, when Stein had put scalpels in the cake. Us at Christmas when Ryuka was thirteen. Her first day of school at the DWMA. Her and Grey after collecting their first soul. The group of her and all of her friends and Stein at the front of the DWMA. Then there was one that almost made my skin crawl. It was a picture of Kid and Ryuka with her sitting on his lap on the black bench in the park.

I walked into the closet and changed into my black skinny jeans and a Skillet t-shirt. I liked Kid, I really did. But I was just worried about what could happen with him being a Shinigami and all. I just didn't want him to hurt her. I grabbed my black and red trench coat and slid into it before walking into the kitchen.

Marie sat across the table from Stein, holding a cup of tea in her slim hands. Now don't get me wrong, but Marie is a great woman. It's just that we've kind of been at each other's throats since Stein and I became partners. I think it was because she was jealous. She had always kinda had a thing for Stein. Well, that doesn't really help when you get assigned to him as a partner. And it REALLY doesn't help when you…..uh…..sort of have a kid with him.

"Morning, Stitches," I smirked, "Eye patch."

"I thought I told you to stop calling me that, Sanguine," Marie said, her good eye narrowing at me.

"Awww," I said sarcastically before messing up Stein's silvery hair, "But it's fun."

"Whatever, San," She said, taking a sip from her cup.

"So what is our daughter and three stripes up to today?" I asked, poking at the large screw in Stein's head.

"Ryuka's out on a mission with Grey, so Kid's probably just hanging at his house today," He sighed, lighting a cigarette and placing in between his teeth.

I raised and eyebrow, "A mission huh? Where at?"

"Downtown Tokyo," He took in a puff of nicotine, "They went to go reclaim the soul of the serial killer Yatsnuki Kirokutchi."

"Wait," I turned and looked at him with serious eyes, "They were sent to _Downtown Tokyo_?"

"Yeah," he tipped the end of his cigarette into his grey stitched ash tray, "Why?"

"There was a witch sited there yesterday," I pulled the cigarette out of his hand and cut off the flame by crushing it into the ash tray, "And it killed the last Meister-Weapon pair it came across."

His gold olive eyes widened, and then the two of us were out the door. Leaving Marie with a broken glass of tea on the floor.

Ryuka's POV

I had never seen so many lights in my life. Downtown Tokyo at night was SO COOL. It seemed like every two steps, there was another electric light sign advertising another show, or dining facility, or pretty much whatever. There were so many people that is was like you had taken the entire academy and crammed them into three square feet of space. I held Grey's hand as we merged through a crowded sidewalk, scanning the streets for Kirokutchi.

She had close cropped blood-red hair and dark velvet eyes. According the information that Lord Death gave us, she should be at a night club about now, but which one? There were so many. I spotted a random one and pulled Grey into the door behind me.

"Let's look in here," I said, scanning the crowd for short red hair through the flashing lights.

"Alright," He said, following my pursuit and looking around the club with me, "Hey, what did Lord Death want to talk to you about earlier? You've kinda been avoiding it."

The two of us sat down at the bar. My hand immediately went to the charm, "It's nothing important right now. Just about Kid."

"Oh," He looked at my hand, "How are you and three stripes anyways?"

"Fine," I sighed, "Were just fine."

"It doesn't sound that way," he said setting his hand on mine, "What's really going on?"

"I don't really want to talk about this," The bartender sat a glass of Sprite in front of me and I took a sip before sliding a dollar across the counter to him.

I stood up and crossed the room with Grey following behind me.

"Hey, Girl," I heard somebody say from behind me, "Wanna Dance?"

I turned around to see a guy with bleached hair walking towards me. His lip piercing glistened in the flashing lights. He gave me a smirk.

"No thanks," I said, tightening my grip on Grey's hand, "I'm with someone right now."

"Who," He looked at Grey, "This Guy? Come on, just one dance," He walked behind me and ran his hand up the curve of my hip. Kid did that. I turned at his touch and swung, hitting him in the face with my clenched fist.

"Don't touch me," I hissed, bending down to his crumpled body and picking up his collar, "I'm looking for someone. Yatsnuki Kirokutchi. Do you know her?" My voice was sharp as I glared at the guy who could've been no more than eighteen.

"Y-Yeah," blood was pouring from his nose, "She's over there. Just don't hit me again."

I looked in the direction that he had pointed and spotted a girl with close cropped red hair. I smiled at the guy and let his collar go, sending his head onto the ground, "Thanks."

Stein's POV

"Where do you think they are, San?" I asked again as we raced through the streets.

"I don't know," She pushed another person out of the way, " Excuse me."

"Check her mind," I insisted, pulling her to the side of the walk so that she could. She closed her eyes and focused.

"There's lots of bright lights, and really loud music. It's like some sort of club," She said, as she studied the images beneath her eyelids.

"Which one? There's a million of them around here," I hate to admit it, but I was freaking out. It's scary to know that she might die.

"Black Cherry Curve," She said opening her eyes. Then her face lit up, "I went Drinking with Kami there once! I know where it is! Come on!"

She grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowded streets. I didn't want to know why her and Kami had ever come to Tokyo to drink, but now really wasn't the time to really even wonder.

Ryuka's POV

"Hey!" I shouted at the redhead across the room, "Yatsnuki! Can we talk?"

The girl looked up. She couldn't have been more than nineteen. She had a cigarette poking out of her teeth. A smile popped onto her burgundy lips as Grey and I approached her.

"Hey, What's up?" She asked as if we were old friends.

"Can we talk?" I leaned closer, "Out back?"

"Sure thing, Kiddo," She held out an arm pointing toward the backdoor. She walked in front of us. I held on to Grey's hand as we left the Black Cherry Curve world of Sex, Club Drugs, and Techno and entered the alleyway.

"Yatsnuki Kirokutchi," I smirked at her as Grey transformed into my hand, "Your wanted for over thirty murders in this part of Japan. Is this information correct?"

The redhead looked over her shoulder. She crushed her cigarette and tossed it to the ground, a look a sadistic personality on her face, "Ah, so you're the Reaper's little collection agency. Came to take my soul, did you?" She drew a switchblade from her pocket, "Well, Come on then," She spun around, "Come and get it."

"You ready, Grey?" I asked, looking at his black eyes reflected into the blade.

_Yeah, _His voice spoke into my mind, _Let's go._

The woman charged forward, her small blade clashing into mine. I smirked at her face as a wisp of blue energy pushed her blade away.

"What the hell?" She screamed as she skidded across the alleyway on her feet, "What is this?"

"Let's Go Soul Resonance!" Grey and I shouted in sync. His blade grew in my hand, sending a light blue glow all around the dark alley. The girls face drew out a bewildered expression. "WITCH HUNTER!"

My blade collided into her body, splitting the girl in half and leaving only her red speckled soul behind. I tossed Grey up into the air and he landed on his feet in front of me. He reached for the soul and took it into his hands before swallowing it.

"Nice," I smiled and walked towards him, "That was number thirty seven."

He turned and smiled at me, "We're doing pretty great, Huh?"

I nodded and smiled at him, blushing in the process.

_What Do I feel for you, My Dear Partner? What do I feel for you, Grey?_

My thoughts were interrupted my a cackle from behind me. My blood froze. I knew that laugh. It was the one from my nightmares.

Sanguine's POV

"WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?" I screamed furiously as we roamed through the club, looking for my daughter and her weapon, and having no such luck WHATSOEVER.

"I don't know, San," Stein said, looking around behind me, "You could always try her mind again."

I nodded and focused, searching for the wavelength of her mind. It was really dark wherever she was. Pretty enclosed too. Grey stood in front of her in a protective stance. Then I saw what her was blocking her from. There stood a small child version of the snake witch. Medusa.

Ryuka's POV

There was no way, may I repeat, NO WAY, that this child in front of me could be the sickening, murderous figure from my nightmares. She looked too sweet. She had short dirty blonde hair that was short and she wore a short black cloak with the hood pulled over her head.

"What do you want?" Grey asked, pulling me further behind him.

"Why that's quite simple, little boy," The small child said smiling, "I want your souls."

Grey flipped into the air and I caught him in my hand, holding him up to defend my chest.

"Making it difficult are we?" She asked tilting her head to the side at me, smiling inanely, "Ah well. Soul Protect, RELEASE!"

I felt a swirl of energy flow through the darkness. Something was happening. Then a witch soul stood before me. I felt my eyes grow wide. Then her small voice said something, "Vector Plate."

A large glowing purple arrow appeared beneath my feet and sent me sailing forward. This magic, witch's magic, was something I had never seen before. I fell on my knees, clutching Grey's hilt in my hand. I was breathing heavily.

"Vector Plate," I looked at the arrow at my feet and my eyes went wide. It pointed strait into a wall. In less than a second I was plowed into brick.

"AH!" My voice was cut short at my lack of oxygen. I refused to let myself fall. I clung to the wall with one had and hung on to Grey for dear life. I felt a retching pain on my insides. I coughed, letting the blood empty from my throat and onto the ground.

"What's wrong?" The child witch asked playfully, "Am I being to rough?"

I spit blood from my mouth, "Screw you."

Then a glowing purple arrow flew towards my neck. If I hadn't ducked, I'd have been decapitated. Then another one came, I held Grey up over my chest, deflecting it with the blade.

"Ah!" I heard a sharp breath come from Grey in my mind.

"Are you okay?" I asked, meeting his eyes in the blade. There was a thin, bloody streak snaking it's way over his right eye.

"I-I'm fine," He panted, "K-keep your guard up."

I knew I needed to keep my guard up, but it was hurting him. I didn't want him to get hurt trying to protect me. But that was all he was worried about right now. Me.

"Snake, Snake. Cobra, Cobra," the tiny witch sang smoothly as she launched another vector towards me. It caught my arm and sent Grey skidding across the pavement and away from me. I toppled back, landing with a thud on the ground. The slash in my forearm stung like crazy. I screamed and held my arm close. It felt as if venom were burning through me, setting each cell of my being on fire.

_Please, just kill me now. It hurts…It hurts…Please God…Make it….stop…_

I could feel my blood crawling across my skin. I could smell it, and it was making me sick.

"Got you now," The witch sang, preparing to launch another arrow at me. Good, let her. Make this pain stop.

"RYUKA!" That was Grey's voice. I opened my eyes to see his newly transformed body leap over mine.

"No! Grey!" But it was too late. I heard a sickening 'Glurg' noise. I opened my eyes to see Grey's widened black one's looking lifelessly into mine. A glowing arrow stuck through his throat. Blood dripped from the wound and onto my neck. A short cough came from him, sending a splash of his blood onto my face. Tears began to blur my vision as the witch shook his body off of the arrow. I felt his body hit mine.

"GREY!" My cry ran through the ally, shortly followed by the witches cackle.

I felt the tears mixing with his blood on my face as it dripped into my shirt. I was sobbing uncontrollably.

_Kill me…God please…kill me…I can't watch this…Kill me…I want to die…Kill me…I'll miss Kid and my parents…just Kill me so I can't feel this pain…I want to close my eyes…Kill me…_


	17. Taken

Chapter 17: Taken

Stein's POV

Sanguine tugged on my arm, pulling me towards the back door of the club. I had only heard her say one word after she pulled out of Ryuka's mind. "Medusa".

I had no idea why she would say her name now. She was dead after all, wasn't she?

The back door of the club was flung open, sending music and lights blaring into the alleyway for a few brief seconds before it closed again, sending the surrounding area back into darkness. But those few seconds were just long enough for me to see her.

Medusa stood over my daughter and her partner. Ryuka leaned against the wall with Grey's limp body held close to her. They were both covered in blood. Ryuka was shaking as she sobbed, her blood covered face streaked with tears. The witch stood over them, a large vector arrow wrapped around her arm and pointed at the two of them, ready for the kill.

"MEDUSA!" I called, causing the witch to turn and look at me in surprise. The vector coiled back up her arm. A small smile played its way onto the child-witch's face. She turned leaving my daughter curled on the ground, holding Grey in her arms.

"Oh, hello, Stein," She smiled walking closer to me and San, "Haven't seen you since our last little…meeting."

I pushed San behind me, using myself as a shield, "What are you doing here, _witch?_" I asked, my eyes narrowing.

"What?" She chided, "No: It's nice to see you. Not even a: Sorry I cut you on half," She tilted her head to the side and ran her small hand up my chest, "How," She dug her nails into my skin, "Disappointing."

"Stein!" San said as she kicked the witch into the wall of the alley.

The child screamed and fell to the ground, "Now, miss?" Medusa asked in a small voice, sounding as if she were on the verge of tears, "That hurt me. Why would you kick such a small girl into a wall?"

"Why in the _hell _shouldn't I?" Sanguine growled, "Keep your hands off of _my _meister," She looked at me, "You okay stitches?"

I moved my bloodied hand from the fresh wound in my chest, "Yeah, I'm fine," I stepped forward, resting my hand on her shoulder, "Lets end this."

Grey's POV

_It's so dark, so cold, with no warmth in reach. My eyes wouldn't open, no matter how hard I tried. The lids covering them were two heavy to let me see. I could hardly hear. The sounds around me were clouded and ran together. Then I heard her scream my name in agony. I felt her tears fall onto my numb skin. How I longed to brush her cheek with my hand. To cradle her body and whisper into her hair that everything would be alright. But nothing could have been further from the truth._

_My entire body felt as if it were being steamrolled by a glacier. Each breath that I tried to draw sent more blood flowing into my lungs. My body may have been near frozen, but even the numbness didn't stop the pain in my throat and chest. My body ached and throbbed. I could feel her gentle hands brushing my face as more of her tears slid over my skin. I knew what was happening. I knew that I was dying in her arms. _

_Pictures flooded into my eyes. Ryuka. Silver. Us. Mom. Dad. Then I picture of Kid found a place. My throat tightened, sending more pain shooting through me. Maybe it would be better for her to be with him._

_Let us get something strait Kid. You have to protect her. You have to treat her right and never hurt her. Keep her safe from harm. Both Ryuka and Silver. I mean this. So help me, if you don't…_

_I relaxed my tensing body, allowing the life to flow from me. I felt the pain slowly leak and melt away. I was dying. Goodbye…Ryuka…Goodbye…Silver…_

Stein's POV

I narrowed my eyes at the young witch and spit my cigarette from my teeth, allowing it to hit the ground. Sanguine looked over her shoulder at me. I nodded giving her the signal that it was time to transform. There was a soft red glow, and then her three foot long blade was in my hand.

There is, in fact, a reason that she is called the "Bloody Sword". Her blade is blood red, long, and lethal. Her black metal handle fit easily into my palm. I remembered the way that it used to feel when we fought together. This was almost the same, except now our daughter's life was at stake.

"Going to make a fight out of this, are we?" Medusa asked, tilting her tiny head to the side, "Ah, well," She sighed, allowing one of her arrows to snake around her arm and slide into a sword in her palm, "I suppose we'll just have to take care of that."

She ran forward, swinging her sword at my chest. I caught her black and purple blade with Sanguine and blocked her from her target. She lunged again, grazing my right shoulder. I winced at the cut, but blocked the pain from my mind. I had gotten good at that lately.

A spark lit up inside of me. I wanted to dissect her. After all, dissection was what I did best. I wanted to rip her apart piece by piece. I wanted to watch her blood spill over my hands as I slowly pulled her apart. I wanted to hear her screams. I pulled my glasses off and slid them into my pocket. The madness was creeping up on me again.

_Stein, _Sanguine's voice entered my mind, _Is everything okay? _

"Yeah," I smirked and flipped her in my hand, "Let's just get this over with."

I charged forward, ducking beneath the vector and then sliced my blade into her side, earning a wince from the tiny child.

"Oww," The tiny witch whined, clutching her side, "Mister that hurt me."

"Like I care, Medusa," I hissed, venom dripping from my words. Then I felt my eyes widen. I looked into her soul, and saw something horrific even for my tastes.

She had taken over a little girl's soul and used it as her own.

_Stein, let's attack her while she's down, _Sanguine whispered into my mind.

"No, San," I said, watching the tiny witch stagger away, "We have to let her go. I'll explain later, but we need to get Ryuka and Grey out of here."

She shifted back into her human form and we slowly approached the pair on the ground.

I picked Ryuka up Bridal style (I know that it sounds awkward), resting her head onto my shoulder. I knew that all the blood on her body would get on my coat, but I really didn't care about that right now. Sanguine pulled Grey up onto her back. Ryuka's olive-gold eyes looked up into mine.

"Don't worry," I said as we began to walk towards the car, "I'm going to fix this."

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Ryuka's POV

_I feel so numb, _I thought as I sat on the floor of the shower in the girls locker room. The entire white tiled floor had stained red when I had first stepped into the shower. Red with both mine and Grey's blood.

Tears still flowed down my face like crazy. _Grey…Grey…Grey…_I sobbed his name in my head repeatedly. _This is all my fault…I'm so sorry…my dear partner…_

I stood up and turned off the water. I grabbed a soft white towel and secured it around my body. I looked over at my reflection with blurry eyes. All the blood was washed off of me. I sat my hand on the counter and then felt something soft. Clothes. Mom had brought me clothes. Then there was something cool in the pile. I picked it up and studied it in my palm. It was my betrothal necklace.

I closed my palm around the small skull in my hand and backed into the wall before sliding onto the floor, still in only my towel. _Kid…How can I marry you when I'm only fifteen…and your only sixteen…Is this what you meant when you asked me if I had what it took to love a Shinigami…I love you…I really do…but now I just feel so scared…about what the future may hold…_

I stood and tied the choker around my neck before slipping into my black button up shirt and dark skinny's. I tossed my towel into the laundry basket and walked out barefoot. The hallway was quiet and dark, since it was near midnight. I walked with my arms folded over my chest until I found the infirmary. I leaned against the wall and slid I down it until I was sitting. I pulled my knees up to my chest and held them close.

I held up my injured forearm and looked at the wound closely. It would scar, I knew that, but it would heal some. The scab had just started to form over the relatively deep wound. I thought of the sting that had come with it and began to wonder if what had caused it still rested beneath my skin. Then I heard the infirmary door open, sending my head shooting up.

It was my mom. She held a roll of bandages in her hand, most likely meant for me. She sat on her knees beside me on the floor.

"Can I bandage up your arm?" She asked, touching my hand. I nodded and lifted my arm towards her. She gently took it and began to wrap the white gauze around it, "Do you want to talk?"

I shook my head back and forth. My mother hadn't ever really been around for my growing up, but I wasn't mad at her for it. Work is work. In fact, now that I think about it, I've never been the closest with either of my parents. That needed to change. It was strange though. Hearing my mom ask me if I wanted to talk. She was more like a friend than my mom if anything. After a moment, she got up and left me alone in the dark hallway once again.

Stein's POV

I pulled my hands away and then peeled the latex gloves from my skin. It was too late. He had lost too much blood for me to have been able to do anything regarding the prevention of his death. I suctioned the blood off of him and stitched the throat wound as small and neatly as I could. He was gone.

I sighed and slumped into the chair at the corner of the room. How was I going to tell her that I hadn't been able to save him? I told her that I would fix this, and obviously I did not. I took off my glasses and wiped them with the corner of my clean coat. I clicked the screw back a few times before I rose from the chair and continued from the door to break the news.

Ryuka's POV

I sat there for what seemed like an endless amount of time. It felt as if each tick on the clock pulled more energy from my body, draining my very soul. Then the door slowly opened, sending my head snapping up to see who had caused the action.

This time, my father stood before me. I rose and looked at him with teary eyes in an almost pleading way.

_Did you fix him?_ I asked into his mind with my own, _Is my partner alright?_

For a terribly long, out-drawn moment, the halls held entirely still. The world stopped as the smell of Grey's blood leaked from the room and flooded into my nostrils. A smell I knew all to well. My heart stopped when my fathers head shook back and forth.

I placed my hands over my face and let loose an entire new flood of tears accompanied by agonizing sobs. He was gone. And it was entirely my fault. I moved my hands away after a short eternity and brushed the first wave of tears from my eyes. Without even asking, I walked into the infirmary.

I found the only occupied bed and stepped towards it. The smell of his blood hit my nose again, and a new waves of tears was released. I couldn't even see him. I clumsily stumbled my way over to his bedside. Once there, I fell to my knees and place my head on his chest. I sobbed harder, saying his name within the sobs, shortly followed by apologies. I clung to his body and continued to cry until no more tears would come. Just dry, throaty sobs.

I must have stayed like that for hours, because when I looked over my shoulder, I could see the sun begin to peek on Death City through the windows. I eventually found the strength to stand on my wobbly legs and walked towards the door. I opened it, reveling teary eyed silver there. I scooped her into my arms and she clung to my body, sinking her head into my shoulder and crying.

"B-b-b-brother," she sobbed into my shirt. I patted her back softly and then began to walk towards the exit of the school with the six year old still in my arms. We were going home.

A/N: All done. Review. I'm Crying right now and was with the last chapter to. The next chapter is called Grief. See you then.


	18. Greif

Chapter 18: Greif

Death the Kid's POV

I turned off the hot water of the shower and grabbed a white towel. I dried my black and white hair before securing the towel around my waist. The room was thick with steam. I ran the hand towel across the mirror in order to see my own reflection. My pale body was still damp. My golden eyes still piercing.

I sighed and grabbed my boxers and black slacks from the counter top before sliding into them. I hung the towel up and then leaned against the wall on my bare torso. The funeral was today. I had always hated funerals, even if I was a Reaper, I hated it.

Ryuka had been so torn up since Grey died, it made me hurt to even look at her. She stopped talking, not just to me, but to everyone. She hadn't let little Silver out of her sights since Grey's passing either.

I walked towards the door, shirtless. I cursed when I realized that I hadn't brought my shirt in with me. I sat my hand on the rounded door knob and pulled the door open. The silence crawled into the room as I stepped out into the hallway.

Ryuka's POV

"Hey, Ryuka?" Silver asked from behind me, "Can you button my dress up in the back?"

I gave her a weak smile before nodding. She turned around and lifted her shining gray hair, giving my access to the buttons on the back of her black dress. She looked really cute, despite the fact that it was her brother's funeral. Her long, shiny hair had been left down, so it flowed all the way down to the backs of her knees. She wore a soft black dress that hugged tightly to her petite curves and then flowed at the bottom with tight, long sleeves. Her black eyes sparkled with tears.

I wore a dress just like hers, with only the buttons in front instead, with my hair down as well. I touched my necklace with my slim fingers and felt a tear roll down my cheek. Silver and I had gone to her and Grey's apartment earlier this week to get her some clothes, and I had found some things of his. I knew I shouldn't have, but I took some of his things too, for memory's sake.

His gray hoodie, that smelled just like him, freshly mowed grass and apples. Some of his pictures of us, mainly out on missions. His nice white dress shirt, which smelled like him as well. The last thing I had taken was a ring that was setting on his dresser. It was his father's, but when his father died, it became his.

Now that onyx band hung on a silver chain around my neck. Silver turned around and saw the tear roll down my cheek. She tilted her head and sat down on the edge of my bed, looking at me. It was hard to believe that it had only happened a week ago. Silver had been living in my room since then, and I had gotten used to it. Social Services were supposed to come by and get her tomorrow, but I really didn't want that to happen. I wanted to adopt Silver as my own sister.

"Ryuka?" She asked in her small voice, "Can I go get a snack?

I faintly smiled, "Sure. I'll be down in a minute."

"Kay!" She grinned and slid off of my bed before skipping down the hall towards the stairs.

After I was sure she was gone, I crossed the room over to my closet. The white doors slid open easily. I flipped to the back part of my closet and looked at his white shirt hanging there. After a moment, I lightly sat my hand on it before pulling it to my face so I could smell it. The scent of him flooded into my nostrils. At first it was sweet, but then tears were washing my face. I missed him so much.

"Ryuka?" Kid's voice called from my doorway. I slowly released the shirt and turned to look at him. He wore only a pair of black slacks, no shoes, no shirt. His hair looked damp, so he had probably just showered.

"Do you need something?" I asked, sighing after the final word escaped my lips.

"Do I have to need something to be with you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow an entering the room.

"I suppose not," I sighed, wiping the tears from my eyes, only to find them quickly replaced by new ones. The next thing I knew, he had his arms interlaced around my body, hugging me and kissing the tears from my cheeks. I clung to him, but refused to take in the scent of him. I just couldn't do it right now.

"Ryuka," He rested my head in the crook of his neck. Then his fingers were in my hair and his head rested atop mine, "I want to talk to you about something."

Somehow we were both on the bed now. My head still in the same place, "You know the necklace that I gave you? The one with the skull?"

I nodded against his bare skin.

"Well, it's sort of a betrothal necklace," He said looking down.

"I know" I said, pulling away and turning my head to the side. My hair fell over one shoulder as I turned so that I couldn't meet his eyes, "Your father told me about it. He said it used to be your Mom's."

"Yeah," He nodded, "I've been meaning to ask you about it. Ryuka," He slid off of my bed, and knelt, "This may be the wrong time to ask this, but Ryuka? Will you marry me?"

He slid my palm into his, looking at me with gentle golden eyes. I looked at him for a moment, studying his face.

"I can't, not now. I do love you, so much, but I just don't think I can, not yet."

He stood back up and kissed my forehead, "I understand," He lightly graced his hand upon my head, "I'll wait. As long as you need." With that, he left me sitting on my bed. I looked over at the choker which sat on my dresser. A tear slowly trickled down my cheek. But this one wasn't for Grey.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Sanguine's POV

I buttoned up my black dress shirt before sliding into my solid black trench coat and looking at my reflection. I wore my usual skinny jeans and boots along with my black clothes. I picked up my wide brimmed black hat and pushed it onto my head, then smirked at myself. Now I somewhat resembled what would happen if Kuroudo Akabane had turned female and used blood red as his accent color.

"San," Stein said from my door, "It's a funeral, not a cosplay convention."

"These are my funeral clothes," I shot back, "It's not like your wearing anything different that you usually do," This was right of course. He wore his black pants, white stitched lab coat, and his black and gray stitched t-shirt. At least I was dressed for a funeral.

"Whatever, San," We left my room and found Marie waiting at the door for us. The three of us piled into her car, her in the back, Stein in the passenger, and me drivers seat. I started the Marie's sleek black Equinox with a purr and slowly backed out of the driveway before starting down the road at a steady pace.

"I'm really worried about Ryuka," I sighed, gripping the steering wheel as I drove through the pouring rain, "She's been down and out of it since Grey died, she isn't even talking to three stripes anymore."

"Their engaged you know," Stein said, tracing absent patterns on the knee of his jeans.

I slammed harshly on the brakes, sending the car skittering to a stop and all of us jerking forward, "WHAT?"

He looked at me in surprise, "You didn't know?"

Hell no I didn't! This was all new to me. Three Stripes and My Girl engaged? What the hell was that? "No."

"That necklace she wears with the white charm," He said, "That's how a Shinigami proposes."

My eyes were wide, "Did she agree to it?"

"Pardon?"

"DID SHE AGREE OR WAS SHE FORCED INTO IT !" I screamed.

"I'm pretty sure that she said yes, but she didn't want to be married until they were a bit older and she was sure she could handle it."

I hit the gas, sending the car flying forward, " 'Pretty Sure' isn't good enough," I growled, tightening my grip on the wheel until my knuckles turned white, "I'm going to kill him."

Death the Kid's POV

Ryuka and I walked towards the little white church under my black umbrella. Silver, Liz, and Patty walked in front of us, beneath an identical umbrella. I held the umbrella with my right hand, Ryuka's left resting on top of it. The rain fell hard all around us. I just wanted this over and done with. Funerals were too freaking depressing!

"Hey, Kid," Ryuka said in a small voice.

I turned to look at her, raising my eyebrows slightly, "Yes?"

"When I turn nineteen," she said, biting her lower lip.

My eyebrows went up a little further, "I'm sorry?"

"If we're still together when I'm nineteen and your twenty, I'll marry you that year."

I smiled, feeling her hand tighten on mind, "Whenever your ready, I'll be here for you," I leaned in and kissed her forehead, making her blush. Then I saw a small tear inch its way down her cheek. I reached up and wiped it away with my pale fingers, "What is it?"

"I just miss him so much," She said, another tear falling down her cheek, "It's like there's a huge hole in my chest, and the worst part is that every time I look at Silver, it's like rubbing salt in the wound. She's just like him, Kid."

I wiped the tears from her face and then kissed her soft mouth. She put her right hand on the side of my face, then my left hand came up and cradled her face in my palm. I felt her soft skin beneath my fingers. Our foreheads pressed together. Her soft mouth moved against mine. At last we broke apart, breathing deeply, "I love you," I moaned, resting my head on her forehead.

She slightly smiled, "I know."

Ryuka's POV

I felt the rain pour over my back as I knelt before his grave. It was a simple, slate-colored cross with his name carved into the platform at the bottom. I had my hands clasped together, keeping them to the center of my chest. My tears were mixed with the rain water as I kept looking at the grave. The sun had already set, and everyone had already left. Despite Kid's protests, I had eventually gotten him to leave to give me some space.

I sat a soft, white rose on the base of his grave with shaking fingers. I sobbed, shaking as I released the rose.

"Grey," My voice shook, barely audible in the rain, "I miss you."

After I stayed like that for a moment, I stood up and crossed the silent graveyard, feeling the chill of the cool air mix with the rain. I opened the iron gate, stepping out onto the sidewalk. I didn't keep and umbrella, so I was walking alone, in the rain, after dark. I was halfway home before I realized that something wasn't right. I could hear footsteps coming from behind me. I stopped cold, before turning. Then I saw two familiar faces.

Okay, now, we all remember that fight I had with Kid like, six weeks ago, right? Well do we all remember what caused that fight? I'll give you a hint, I was trying to help Chrona. Well, those two idiots, Jointer and Guy with the Cap, you remember them? Well good.

Two guys stood behind me, one with a joint poking out of his teeth, the other with an old, beat-up ball cap, "Hey, Bitch," The jointer smiled before tossing his arm over my shoulder, "You didn't forget about us, did you?"

I shoved his arm off, "Buzz off," I turned back around, "I don't want you around me."

"Come on, now," He grabbed me by the arm, spinning me back around to face him, "Just because you're the Shinigami's little girl doesn't mean that you can't be ours for just one hour." A disgusting smirk lilting up his face.

I jerked out of his hold, taking a step backwards, "Stop it!" I screamed, slapping him hard across the face.

"Bitch," he spat the joint from his teeth, "You just screwed up big time."

I took another step back as I saw the guy in the cap transform into a sleek, black pistol and land in the jointer's hand.

The next thing I heard was a bang, and then I was on the ground. My right shoulder was screaming. My entire upper right side of my body felt warmly wet and sticky. My throat suddenly felt dry, locking my screams in the dungeon of my throat.

_Kid, _I thought weakly, throwing the thoughts into his mind, _Help me._

A/N: Finally done! I know, it's my lately trademark cliffhanger, but the next chapter continues strait from this one. I'm sorry that it was so late, but I had homework, and my Grandmother had to go _back_ to the hospital. I've noticed something, My chapters have been really depressing lately, haven't they? I guess it's just cause I killed off Grey. But, anyways, I MUST HAVE REVIEWS ON THIS CHAPTER! The next chapter will be called: Another Scar. SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	19. Another Scar

Chapter 19: Another Scar

Death the Kid's POV

I sat on the couch, book in hand. I was reading a copy of The Ancient Art of Symmetry, a small black book that Ryuka had given to me a few weeks ago. I had already read it, but it was about symmetry. Oh Symmetry~!

Sorry, got ahead of myself there, but anyways, back to what I was saying.

The house had been relatively quiet today. It was probably because of the funeral, but it was almost eerie. Patty and Liz had both been shut up in their rooms since we had gotten home, Silver sat on the floor, coloring a picture of a rabbit with monotone shade, and Ryuka still wasn't home. I didn't like the fact that she had wanted me to leave her there alone with the sun near setting, but it was what she had wanted.

"Hey, Silver," I said setting down my book and crawling over to the floor beside her, "How are you doing, Sweetie?"

She looked up from her picture, starring at me with her large black eyes, "Fine," she gave me a small smile, "What about you?"

"I guess I'm doing okay. I'm just kind of worried about Ryuka," I blushed when I said her name, thinking about what she had told me earlier today.

"Is she your girlfriend?" The small girl asked, tilting her head to the side.

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Your house is quiet," She said, coloring more of her picture.

"It isn't always like this," I said, lying on my stomach next to her, "Liz and Patty are just in their rooms right now. Today has been kinda hard on all of us."

The black crayon that she used stopped, "That tall girl, Liz," She said looking at me, "It's probably been almost as hard for her as it is for Ryuka and I."

I rested my head on my arms, looking at her in surprise, "Why is that?"

"Do you remember that day, when you helped me pick daffodils for my mom?"

I nodded, still focusing on her.

"Well," She sat her crayon down, and then sat up cross-legged beside me, "After Ryuka told Big Brother that he was better off with someone else, I noticed that a little while after that, Grey started acting a bit differently. I thought that maybe, he was started to pull out of his quiet personality and hanging out with you guys more often at school. Well, it turned out that he was hanging out with a friend more, one in particular."

"Who?" I asked looking at her in awe. She seemed so intelligent for just a six year old.

"The tall girl, Liz. He was around her lots. After school, before school, during school, even on some of the weekends," My eyes went a little wider. Grey and Liz? A couple? I had no idea. I recall Liz being out of the house quite a bit more lately, but the thought of her being with someone never crossed my mind, "I remember one night that she stayed over at our apartment. She seemed like a really nice girl. She told me a bedtime story, and brushed my hair for me after my bath. I could tell that she really liked him. Then next morning, she was washing dishes, and I heard her singing. I don't know what the name of the song was, but it was really pretty. Something about wishes. Then Grey came up and hugged her from behind. Then I realized, that there was another girl in his life that he cared about. I have to admit that I was a little jealous, but now, I just feel sorry that I used to think that way because it wasn't my place to."

"I had no idea," I said, looking at the small gray-and-black rabbit on the page, "Poor Liz." I closed my eyes. Then there was a set of tiny fingers in my thick, raven hair.

"She'll be okay," Silver said, stroking the top of my head, "I may not know Liz all that well, but I do know that she's a strong person. She can make it through this."

I looked up at the small girl, "How did you get to know so much about people?"

"If I can make it through losing Mommy and Daddy, she can make it through this," she gave me a cute, small smile, closing her eyes in the process, "Life will keep going on, no matter what happens. The world won't stop spinning until God deems it time for it to. And right now, I don't think he's ready to stop the world just yet."

I looked at the small girl in shock. She was probably one of the wisest people I had ever met, even if she was only six, "Yeah," I looked into her dark eyes with my gold ones, "Me too."

_Kid, _I heard Ryuka's voice weakly in my mind, _help._

I stood up, racing to the coat rack and tugging my black coat on.

"Kid?" Silver asked, following m to the door, "Where are you going?"

"Silver!" I knelt down to her size, placing both hands on her shoulders, "I need you to do something, but you have to be a big girl for me. Can you do that?"

She nodded, silver hair bouncing on her head.

"I need you to go get Liz and Patty. Tell them that I need them to get some clean sheets put on a bed in one of the guest bedroom. I'll also need bandages, water, some towels, antiseptic, a thermometer, and some fever reducer in that room. Okay?"

"Okay," She said, her dark eyes lined in concern, "but why?"

"I've got this bad feeling about Ryuka. I think something may have happened," I kissed her forehead and stood up, "No matter what happens, just stay strong."

She nodded her tiny head once before I took off down the path.

SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER-SOUL EATER

Death the Kid's POV

I don't think I've ever run so fast in my entire life. The night was freezing and the rain still came down in cascades. I didn't care about how cold, or wet that I was right now. I just had to know that she was okay. Please, God, let her be okay.

I scanned the streets and walks, the streetlamps my only source of light. So far a I had seen no one. Heard nothing but the sound of my shoes hitting against the soaked pavement. My dark hair was sticking to my face and back of my neck. I was sweating, though you wouldn't have been able to tell with how drenched I was.

"RYUKA!" I cried out, stopping briefly to look around. The I heard a small muffled noise come from ahead. I sprinted forward and slid to a stop, falling to my knees at the sight of her. She shook in the rain, a bullet wound in her right shoulder. There was scarlet covering the walk, leaking from her shoulder.

"Oh, God," I tore off my jacket, wrapping it around her body. I gently scooped her into my arms, trying not to strain her wound. I took off, going as fast as I could without shifting her around too much. _Please,_ I thought, _Please, please, please, please be alright._

"Ah!" She let out a sharp breath, opening one eye, "Kid?"

"Yeah," I said, glancing down at her before re focusing on my path, "I've got you."

"I-It's so cold," She said, shaking in my arms.

"Your going to be fine," I turned on the path that led up to the house, "We're going to make you better."

I kicked open the door and raced up the stairs, "LIZ! WHERE ARE YOU!"

door open with my foot as well. I lay Ryuka on the bed and swiftly peeled the jacket from her before undoing the buttons on her dress and leaving her in the skirt part of it and her black bra. Then I realized that I wasn't the only person in here.

"Liz!" I looked over my shoulder, "Get Silver and Patty out of here and call Stein!" She starred in shock at Ryuka's bullet wound, "LIZ!"

her cell and punching a number before walking out of the room.

I grabbed a washcloth and wet it before putting it onto her paling forehead. I picked up some bandages and wove a pad before pressing onto her shoulder, trying to get the bleeding to stop.

"Hold on, Ryuka," I whispered, pressing down, "Please, hold on."

Sanguine's POV

I picked through the bowl of Ramen on the table in front of my with my chopsticks, trying to find another hunk of meat. I widened my smirk in satisfaction when my utensils found what they were searching for and plunged their find into my mouth.

I chewed silently as I looked at the other two at the table. It had been my turn to cook, and knowing me, I'm not so much for the whole "Preparing a large meal" thing. Usually on the nights it was my job, I would fix ramen, or something else from a box. Our meal was unusually silent this evening as the three of use slowly ate our noodles.

The akward silence turned into an akward glance at my meister, when his phone burst into his ringtone of "I Don't Wanna Know" by Hinder. Marie and I both stopped mid bite and starred. He just smiled and reached into his pocket, pulling out a grey stitched phone.

"What?" He asked pressing the talk button, "I like that song," Then he held the phone to his ear.

I could hear a familiar voice on the other side, shrieking in hysteria and sounding on the verdge of tears. I set down my bowl and chopsticks and tilted my head toone side, trying to hear just what she was saying. Stein nodded sharply and then said, "How much blood has she lost?" into the phone. A few more cries of hysteria and a couple on sharp nods from Stein as he lurched up in his chair and pressed the phone closer to his ear, "I'll be right there," He said, dumping his bowl into the sink and stuffing the phone into his pocket.

"Who was that?" I asked, standing up and tugging on my jacket. I had a feeling that we were headed somewhere, and not for a good reason.

"Liz," He said, pulling on his own coat, "Ryuka was shot."

"WHAT?" Blondie and I asked in the same instance.

"I need to go," he said, heading for the door.

I grabbed his shoulder, "You mean _we _need to go," I corrected, giving him a smirk.

Death the Kid's POV

"God," I said, pressing a fresh cloth to her forehead, "Please, Please Ryuka." I had finally gotten the bleeding to stop, but she was still unconscious, and sweating insanely. Her face was paler than my own. Not a good sign.

_Where the hell was Stein?_ I needed him, this was something he would be better at fixing than myself. The bullet was still in there, I was almost sure of it.

Then I heard the door swing open, and a familiar set of footsteps coming from the doorway. I looked over my shoulder at Stein and Sanguine before placing a fresh cloth on her forehead.

"Thank the Lord," I breathed out, "Stein, it's in her upper right shoulder. Can you get it?"

I moved aside, giving the doctor access to his only daughter. His pale fingers drifted carefully over her skin like a shadow creeping towards the wound.

"It's deep," His olive-gold eyes slanted downward, focusing in the red blood-blossom on her shoulder, "but if I can get the bullet out, she should be alright."

I nodded, looking at him carefully.

"Kid, by chance, do you have any rubber gloves?"

Sanguine's POV

I stood next to Stein, focusing intently on his hands as he pulled the bullet out of her shoulder. Kid sat across from the two of us, holding onto Ryuka's left hand. Stein now held the needle in his hand, slowly stitching up the wound. So far, so good. We had gotten the bullet out and everything had gone smoothly.

Stitch. Stitch. Stitch.

We hadn't even needed to sedate her. With all the blood she had lost, she was practically a stone when we got to her. It was all going well until Stein's hand slipped. The needle sunk into the soft flesh of her collar. A small bead of blood pooled from the wound, but it wasn't to bad. In a sudden insant, I was no longer as worried about my daughter as I was my meister. A crazy look slithered its way onto his face. A yearning for blood into his olive-gold eyes.

"Stein?" I leaned closer to him, getting a better angle of his face, "Stein!"

He slowly turned to me, a wide, sadistic smile on his face. I backed away, my back pressing to the wall as he got closer to me, "Stein, STOP IT!" I swung my hand hard against his face, letting the slap ring across the room.

He swayed to the side, his head turning and a look of shock smacking him in the face along with my hand. I walked back over to Ryuka, finishing the stitches on her shoulder. I saw Stein stand up from the corner of my eye. I tied off the stitch and glared at him over my shoulder.

"Go home, Stein," I said in a growling voice, "Now."

He nodded as if her understood, turning and leaving the room.

After a moment, I turned back and looked at kid after hearing the door click closed. Then I dashed over, picking him up by the collar and holding him to the wall, "Kid, I believe a talk is in order about your engagement to my daughter," I growled through gritted teeth.

A/N: Finally finished! I hope you like it! Um..things are beginning to take a swing here…Stein's madness is really taking over. Not to mention the fact that San is totally on Kid's case right now…So yeah. REVIEW FOR ME PLEASE! ^^ The next chapter will be called: Choices. SEE YOU ALL THEN!


	20. Creeping

Chapter 20: Creeping

(A/N: I know that I said it would be called Choices, but I thought that this name fit better)

Stein's POV

I walked into my bedroom and closed the door behind me, sliding down it until sat on the floor. Sweat beaded on my forehead. My breathing was heavy. My heart was pounding fiercely in my chest. My head was throbbing. My own daughter. Just the sight of blood from my very own daughter set my madness off. This was insane.

_Stein,_ A voice echoed in my head. I gulped, my voice. _Stein, _It whispered again,_ Cast off you false skin, Stein. This is not who you are._

I held the sides of my head. I pulled myself up and staggered into the bathroom. I turned on the sink and set my hands under the cold water before pooling the liquid onto the back of my neck and forehead. I was still breathing heavily. Then I made the mistake of looking at my reflection.

I had three eyes and my insane smile. This was not me. Not me.

My fist collided with the glass sending shards of the mirror flying and skittering across the floor. I felt my blood trickle in-between my knuckles. My breathing had gotten heavier as I leaned against the mirror.

_Stein, _the voice whispered again, _Don't worry Stein, I'll always be here._

"SHUT UP!" I shouted, still breathing heavily. This had to end, one way or another.

Death the Kid's POV

"S-Sanguine?" I choked out as she held me to the wall by the collar, "What the hell are you doing?"

Her blood red eyes narrowed at me, her thin black eyebrows slanted down, "You and I need to have a little chat," she growled, swinging me around, and throwing me into the chair. In half off a second she was leaning over me with a dagger pressed to my throat, "Thanks for letting me know about your engagement to my daughter," She held the dagger closer to my neck, "I really appreciate that," her voice oozed with sarcasm.

Sweat dripped off my forehead, "San, I-"

"Don't even get me started on the fact that I'm not even sure if she even agreed to it!" She shouted. Then she did something unexpected. She leaned back and sat onto the bed, holding the knife in her left hand.

"San?" I asked, leaning forward in the chair, "I-I'm sorry."

She looked up at me, "Did she agree to it, Kid?"

"She told me that when she was nineteen," I released a sigh, "If we were still together, she would marry me."

"Kid," She leaned forward, knife at my throat, "I swear on my life that if you're lying to me, I will kill you," she stood up, and walked past me, messing up my hair in the process, "Understand, Three Stripes?"

"Yeah, San," I pushed her hand off of my head, "I do get it. And I swear that I'm not lying about this."

She smirked at me, "That's what they all say, Kid." Then I sat alone in the room, taking Ryuka's hand in my own, placing a kiss on the back of it. Her pale face was motionless as her chest slowly rose and fell.

"Please," I prayed, "Please be alright."

The weird thing was that after that, I could only hear Sanguine's word reverberating in my skull.

Sanguine's POV

"Stein?" I called into the dark house as I hung my coat on the rack beside the front door. I hit the switch, "Stein? We need to talk." I knew that Marie had gone out for the evening with Azusa and Spirit, so Stein should have been here. I crossed the living room, towards his bedroom. I set my hand on the knob, then took in a heavy breath. The last time I had been in here, was the night that he had seen my smirk disappear. The night where for only that short time, the walls inside the both of us had come down. To be truthful, my walls hadn't come down since that night almost sixteen years ago. I inhaled and turned the know letting the door creak open. I slowly stepped in, taking in the scent of Stein's cologne and cigarettes. The room looked and smelled exactly the same. It had the same smoke and must smell that it did back then.

"Stein?" I asked for a third time, "Are you in here?" Then I heard his heavy breathing coming from the bathroom, "Stein!" I threw open the bathroom door, revealing him leaning on the mirror, breathing hard. I grabbed his arm, "Stein, I need you to take your arm away from the glass," I said, lacing my hands to his wrist. With little force, I finally got his bleeding arm away from the broken glass. I pulled him slowly from the bathroom, one of his arms draped over my shoulders. I sat him down on his bed and grabbed some bandages from his dresser along with some antiseptic before getting back closer to him. I sat down on the bed and took his arm in my hand.

"Stein, are you okay?" I asked tentatively, wrapping the bandages around his wound. I got no reply from him. I looked up into his olive-gold eyes, finding nothing inside, "It's the madness, isn't it?" he admitted a small nod. I looked down and touched my chest. I knew plenty about that. It had been hitting me hard, especially in the past month. I had been feeling like I was being eaten alive with this horrid bloodlust that made me want to rip everything apart.

I looked back up at him, "Do you want me to go get you a new pack of cigarettes? I know that your out." I offered, smiling at him.

His olive eyes met mine, "That would be great. Can I come too?"

"Of course you can, Stitches," I said, ruffling his hair. We both stood up, leaving the room. Then hear was the strange part. Stein took my hand in his and leaned towards my ear, "Thanks, San," He whispered quietly as we walked out of his bedroom.

Ryuka's POV

Each time I took a breath, my chest felt heavy. As if I were being pressed down on by a six-ton anvil. I could feel someone holding my hand in theirs. Soft palms, long, cool fingers. I knew these hands. Kid-kun?

My eyes fluttered open, and I looked around the room. This wasn't my room, but was I at Kid's place? I had to have been, the room was perfectly symmetrical and the walls were a soft white. I looked over at him, my head slightly turned to the side, "K-Kid," my voice was hardly a whisper.

His golden eyes met mine, and a small smile lit his face. He leaned forward and kissed my forehead, "I'm right here," He whispered before lightly kissing me full on the mouth. He lightly brushed my cheek with his hand, tears in his eyes as he smiled at me.

"W-what's going on?" I asked, "Did something happen?"

He took my hand and locked eyes with me, "You don't remember?"

I weakly shook my head. I remembered the funeral and walking home in the rain, but not after that. Had I fainted or something like that? This was insane. I hated not knowing what had happened, "Just what ha-" I stopped trying to prop myself up and fell back lightly as pain went shooting through my shoulder. I felt tears pool in my eyes.

"Ryuka?" Kid gripped my hand tightly and wiped the tears with his thumbs, "Do I need to call Stein?"

I opened one eye and looked at him, "I-I-I'm fine," I stuttered, "I was shot, wasn't I?"

He gravely nodded and took my hand tighter into his, "I don't know exactly how, but I was talking to Silver and then your voice was in my mind. It said 'Help'. After I brought you here, I stopped the bleeding and then Stein pulled out the bullet. But then something happened. Your father, um, well, he kind of, urm…"

My eyes widened, "I-Is it the madness?"

He nodded, "When the needle slipped from his hand, he saw your blood and well, something must've snapped. Your mom had to slap him to get him out of it."

I rested my head back on my pillow. I remembered a time when the madness had gotten him before. It had been almost six years since then. These scars that littered my skin, my stitches, had come from that time. That day seemed so long ago, but the pain of it was still so fresh in my mind. I won't go into the details, but let's just say mom wasn't all that happy when she came home and I was dismembered on the floor. It took about three hours to get everything sewn back on and positioned correctly. I felt a silent tear roll off of my face. Then a cool hand ran across my cheek, wiping the tear away.

"Is something wrong?" Kid asked, cradling my cheek, "Does anything hurt?"

I shook my head, "I think it's just because I'm so tired. Can I see Silver?"

He smiled and kissed my forehead, "Of course you can," Then he left the room, leaving me alone.

Liz's POV

I pulled my white tank top down the rest op the way over my stomach. My soft brown hair hanging down on my back. Silver sat in front of me, letting me brush her long, silky hair. I hummed a soft tune as I ran the brush through her hair again. Patty sat on her own bed, playing with her small giraffe figurines.

"Hey, Liz?" Silver asked, turning and looking at me, "What is the name of that song? I've heard you sing it before. That time when you spent the night."

"Oh," I looked down and sat the brush on my bed, "It's called 'My Wish'. Grey used to like that song." I felt a tear roll down my face at the mention of him. I had spent the night with him almost three weeks ago. It seemed as if it had been an eternity since then.

"Liz?" Silver turned around and wiped the tear from my cheek. Then she put her hand on my stomach, "I think it would be smart if you went to the doctor tomorrow."

"Why?" I asked looking into her dark eyes and finding no answers.

Then there was a knock on the door and her pale hand went back into her lap. Then Kid opened the door, "Um, excuse me, but Ryuka's awake. And she wants to talk to Silver."

The small girl stood up and walked over to the door. Then something hit me. I dashed into the bathroom just as everything in my stomach came up. W-What is this? I thought as I felt Kid's hands on my shoulders. After I stood up and flushed the toilet, I walked over to the sink and rinsed out my mouth, "Liz?" Kid asked, looking at me in concern, "Are you getting sick?"

I rinsed my mouth and spit the water into the sink, "I'm going to the doctor's office tomorrow," I bit my lower lip, "Something _inside _doesn't feel right."

**The Next Day **

Ryuka's POV

"So," The Social Worker sat in the corner of the room looked up from his clipboard, "What your saying is that you and this young man wish to _adopt_ Silver Catheryn Night?"

I looked at Kid, who sat beside me in a chair next to my bed. Then we both simultaneously said, "Yes."

"But there is a slight problem," He said, loosening his tie a bit, "The both of you are minors. Fifteen and Sixteen years old isn't a qualifying age to adopt a child."

Kid held my hand a little tighter, his golden eyes now glaring a the man, "In this City, those rules don't apply to me. Now please let us sign the papers so you can leave us in peace. Can you not see that she isn't feeling well at the time?" He gestured to me, "She was shot yesterday, yet she still has the strength to put up with this nerve of yours. So, Sir, if you could be so kind to just give us the paperwork, you can be on your merry way."

I looked at Kid in shock and awe. Had he really just said all of that? _To the Social Worker?_ "Um…well…I suppose that I could…" He handed a stack of papers to Kid, "You have two weeks to get those in and then you'll be her legal guardians," with that, the man left the room, and the two of us looked at one another.

"Question one," He read aloud, "What is the name(s) of the new guardian(s)?"

I smiled, "That's an easy one."

…...

I walked carefully across the living room and sat down next to Liz on the couch. I smiled at Kid as he walked into the kitchen to fix something for dinner. I looked over at the brunette, who sat still with one hand held over her stomach.

"Liz," I looked at her with curious eyes, reaching over and touching her arm, "Is everything alright?"

She looked at me with her sparkling blue eyes, which were slightly red from crying, "I went to the doctor's office today," she said in a shaky voice.

"Well what happened?" I asked focusing in on her.

She locked eyes with me, "I'm Pregnant."

A/N: I'm sorry my update is late, but I got grounded. Anyways, Liz is pregnant with Grey's baby…I hope that isn't a cliché. Anyway! REVIEW THIS SO I CAN POST THE NEXT ONE! The next chapter will take place about two months after this one…It will be called Returning to Almost Normal. SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!

P.S. One of my favorite authors on this website, _Wolfgurl647_, well her father is very ill and in the hospital at the time. Can anybody who reads this please pray for him? I'd for anything bad to happen to him. Thanks! ^^


	21. Returning to Almost Normal

Chapter 21: Returning to Almost Normal

Ryuka's POV

I looked at my reflection in the mirror. I wore a soft black slip with layers in my skirt, which went all the way to my ankles. My bare shoulders were pale against the dark silky fabric. My birthday was last week and Kid was sure to get me plenty of nice night-dresses. I'm not sure why though. They were all long, and flowing with no sleeves, but each one was different. This one pretty much left my entire back bare. I ran my fingers through my hair and smiled. This was a pretty dress, or at least I thought so.

Then I felt a pair of familiar arms snake around my stomach, running his fingers over the thin, black, silky fabric. I could see him in the mirror behind me, "You look beautiful," He whispered into my hair, astonished. I smiled and ran my fingers over his.

"Thanks. I really like this one. It might be my favorite," his hands laced across me ever so gently. I could feel his lips running over my neck. So soft, "Kid?" I asked leaning back further into him, "What are you trying to do?"

One of his hand let go of me and danced its way over to my I-pod jack. Then some techno music started playing. I recognized it as ET by Katy Perry. I loved this song, and he knew that. Then in a flash he had me to where I was facing him. He held one hand on my waist, and the other in my left hand. He pulled the other of mine onto his shoulder. He was leading me so we were swaying back and forth in small motions to the beat. This didn't exactly fit the type of music that this was, but I was too lost in his hypnotic gold eyes to object. Then the chorus started up.

_Kiss Me. Ki-Ki-Kiss Me. Infect Me With Your Lovin'. Fill Me With Your Poison. Take Me. Ta-Ta-Take Me. Wanna Be Your Victim. Ready For Abduction. Boy, You're An Alien. Your Touch So Foreign. It's Supernatural. Extra Terrestrial. _

I smiled up at him as he pulled me closer. I leaned in, clinging to his white dress shirt. Then he spun me around and held me from behind. I leaned back on the beat of the music. I could feel my bare back pressing to his chest. His hips grinding against me from behind as I leaned into his all-to-familiar body.

I'm not one hundred percent sure what happened after that, but the next thing I knew I was on my back, my white quilt beneath me. Kid hovered over me, lips on mine. The song had started over from the beginning as the two of us lie on the bed. His lips were so soft, _so moving,_ against mine. I ran my fingers down his torso, undoing a each button on his shirt that I came to. Within moments his shirt was discarded onto the floor. I traced his chiseled chest with my fingertips, earning a moan from him. I felt his hands run up my thighs over the dress, then he lifted my legs, wrapping them around his waist. His lips trailed down my jaw and to my neck, is hands on my back, pulling me closer to him. The skirt of my dress had now fallen around my torso, leaving everything below my bra-line exposed. My black panties in fact matched the dress. I hadn't really noticed before. Kid ran his hands over my stomach, along my stitches. Then his tongue dipped into my naval. I moaned at the feeling. There was this heat building up inside of me. I knew that my cheeks were on fire, but I really didn't care. All I wanted was him. Just him.

"Ryuka," He panted, meeting my eyes, "Before I get too caught up in myself, I want to make sure that you want this. I could never forgive myself if you didn't."

I looked into his lust-glazed eyes as he panted over me, "I want this," I breathed back, whispering into his hair, "I want you."

I felt his cool hands trail down my body in satisfaction as I felt knots building up inside me as I waited in anticipation for what was to come.

**Morning**

Ryuka's POV

It was still dark outside when my eyes opened. The stereo still played the same song continuously. ET still played through the room. I felt Kid's arms holding me to him from behind. Our sweat covered bodies pressed together felt remarkable. I could feel his breath on my neck, it's cool temperature practically dropping my body's heat level. I remembered being so hot before. Now it felt like I was freezing.

I faced Kid and wrapped my arms around his body, holding him close to me, "I love you, " I whispered into his skin, "I love you so much."

"Really?" he asked, halfway opening his gold eyes, "I never would've guessed. You said it so many times last night, and then the way you screamed my name…"

I blushed as he kissed my forehead, "K-Kid…."

"I'm only teasing, Ryuka," He gave me a smile, "I love you, too," His arms wound around me tighter, forcing us closer. Our bodies pressed so tightly together that I could fell almost every inch of him on my skin.

Everything about last night had been astonishing. Even with the pain at the beginning, that all seemed like nothing compared to all that pleasure. I had still wondered how we had managed to stay on my full sized bed without falling off. Sorry, you probably don't want to know about all of that. I'm just still quite a bit love-drunk from it all.

After a few moments, the two of us got up. Feeling the air on my sweaty, naked skin was almost like being slapped back into reality. I found my panties on the floor and slid them on before pulling my nightdress on over my skin. I looked over my shoulder at Kid, who was only in his boxers and black slacks.

"Wow," He said as I crossed the room to look into my reflection in the mirror. He walked up behind me, weaving his fingers into my own.

"What is it?" I asked, stifling a giggle as I met his eyes.

"Look," He pointed at the mirror, "You really do look like Death's Mistress. Even with all the scars and stitches. I saw a small tear roll down his cheek. I wiped it away with my thumb.

"That wasn't your fault, you know," I kissed him softly, "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"You always tell me that," He said, cupping my face with one hand, "But I still feel really guilty about it."

"Don't," I said, picking up one of his hands and placing it on my scar from the bullet wound.

He looked into my eyes and pulled me into his embrace. I clung to his bare torso, taking in the clean clothes and spearmint scent of his skin, which now lingered all over me.

Eventually we pulled apart, looking deeply into each other's eyes. I now understood what Grey had told me so long ago. About when you truly love someone, how your heart will know. I knew that I could spend the rest of my life at Kid's side. I knew that I could love him to the ends of the earth. I had what it took to love a Shinigami, and these past nine months that I had been proof,

"I'm going to go shower, Kid," I said kissing him on the cheek, "See you in a bit," He gave me a smile as I walked into the bathroom.

Death the Kid's POV

I watched her walk out of her room and into the bathroom with a smile on my face. I picked my shirt up off the ground and pulled it on, doing up the buttons. I looked in the mirror and fixed myself to be symmetrical, aside from my ever so annoying stripes in my hair.

After becoming satisfied with my appearance, I walked out of her room, feeling the soft white carpet on my bare feet. I felt like I could fly. Probably the best I had felt in a long time. After that mission in the cold magnetic field, it just felt great to be home. I walked down the stairs, skipping the very last step, the way Patty always did. She said that it was lucky, or something like that.

I sat down at the opposite end of the couch from Liz, who flipped through the channels with one hand on her stomach. It had amazed me how much bigger that the baby bump had gotten in the past two months. Just one thing made me a bit mad about her pregnancy, she still wanted to go on the missions with me, despite my insisting on her not to. She was just so damn stubborn. I had been trying to talk her out of going on the mission tomorrow. The one Ryuka still didn't know about.

I felt a flood of guilt wash over me. I hadn't told her yet because I didn't want to spoil the amazing past two weeks we had spent together. Her birthday. The Park. Silver's piano recital with Soul, who had been teaching her for the past few months. Last night. I smiled before sliding my hand into my pocket and felt two slick papers. I pulled them out and smiled. These were the reasons I had gone to up to see her so late in the first place. San had gotten her and Stein and the two of us tickets to see Skillet in concert.

"Oh My God!" I heard Liz squeal in both happiness and alarm. I jumped and looked over at her.

"What is it Liz?" I asked sliding a bit closer.

"She _moved_!" She squealed in delight, grabbing my hand and placing it over her womb. Sure enough there was a small wriggling movement beneath my hand.

"So it's a girl?" I asked, smiling at the movement.

"I'm actually not sure, but I have a really strong feeling that it's a girl," She smiled at me, "Do you feel her?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I do."

I had never noticed how pale I was compared to her. My deathly pale skin looked white against her near perfect tan.

"Wow, Kid," She looked at me closely, "Something is definitely different today. I can feel it in your soul's wavelength. It's almost…happier." She gave me a look of suspicion and met my eyes, "Did you two do something last night?"

I felt a blush creeping up onto my face, "W-what? No…we didn't…"

"Kid, We've been partners, like, forever. I know about what happened last night. I could hear the two of you. You weren't exactly quiet," Her voice was hardly a whisper to prevent Silver and Patty, who were playing on the floor, from hearing her.

My eyes immediately went to the floor. A dark blush blanketing my face. It was true, neither of us had been at all quiet last night. Truth be told the two of us had probably been so caught up in all the pleasure to even care about all the lust filled moans, ecstatic screams and every other sweet noise the two of us had made. I remembered loving each time I had made her cry out my name. Loving the way her skin had felt on mine. The way our sweat soaked bodies entwined around one another. Sorry, my mind is detailed in memory.

"So, have you told her about our mission yet?" Liz asked, dropping the sex subject.

"No," I kept my eyes on the floor, "I just don't want to tell her yet. Not with all the fun stuff we've been doing together lately."

"When are you going to?"

"After the concert tomorrow," I smiled and stood, "Speaking of concerts, I should probably go tell her about that."

Sanguine's POV

I opened my eyes, lying down on my back in my small bed. I heard Stein knocking on my door.

"SAN!" He shouted, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN THERE? IT"S NEARLY NOON!"

I smirked and sat up, "It's called sleeping, Stitches!"

He opened the door and immediately flopped onto my bed, lying on his back and looking up at me with nearly bored eyes, "Your still as heavy a sleeper as ever," He said, a small smirk spreading onto his face.

"You figured that after fifteen years I would have changed?" I asked, getting up and crossing my room over to the closet, "I'm disappointed at that one."

He looked at me from the bed, nearly laughing at my sarcasm. Lately the madness had subsided a bit, but that didn't mean it was anywhere near stopping. I knew that because I could feel it too. It took me a moment to realize that I was starring into his eyes. I shook my head and pulled a t-shirt on over my sports bra. I felt like Flyleaf today, don't know why though.

After I was dressed, I walked back over to my bed and plopped down next to Stein. I can't remember the last time that it had been like this. Just me and him, alone. Of course Marie lived here too, but she would be out shopping most of the day. Right now it felt like the way it had used to have been. Before Ryuka. Before I was a Death Scythe. Before all of that. When it was just me and my meister. Stitches and Blood. The way it should be.

I reached over and ruffled his silvery hair around the gunmetal screw. He smiled and sat his hand atop mine, "Will you quit that?" He asked almost playfully.

"Nope," I insisted, getting up and walking out the door to get into the car, "Not in million years, Stitches."

Ryuka's POV

"THAT CONCERT WAS SOO AWESOME!" I squealed as Kid and I walked up the front steps of the manor. His pale hand inside my own. He smiled next to me, "Thank you MOM!" I shouted into the sky.

"Ryuka," Kid said, sounding urgent, "I hate to interrupt your strange spazzing, but I need to talk to you about something."

My eyes deadlocked with his, and then I knew he was absolutely serious, "Yeah, Okay."

"Ryuka, Tomorrow I'm going to have to leave."

"What? Wh-"

"I have to recover the last magic tool for my father. It'll be dangerous, and I don't know if I'll make it back or not but-"

"I could go with you," My voice cut in, "I could go so that I could protect you. So that you would be safe. We could get the last magic tool togeth-"

"No."

I felt as if my heart had been crushed by a two ton block of ice. A cold hand was slowly ripping it out of my chest. The world was frozen around me.

"But Kid-Kun-"

"No, Ryuka," He turned so that he couldn't face me, "I don't even want to take Liz and Patty. With Liz being pregnant, I don't want to giver her any risk of losing her baby. Where I'm going, no one has ever made it back alive. The only reason that my father is sending me is because my reaper body can withstand more. If anything happened to you, I'd-"

"But, Kid-"

"Ryuka," He turned to face me, gripping me by the shoulders, "You can't go. Promise me that you won't follow me. And if I go missing, you won't come after me."

"Kid," Tears stung my eyes, "I-"

"Please promise me."

"I-I," I bit my lower lip, sending tears streaking my face, "I promise."

Sanguine's POV

I walked beside Marie to the door. She carried a bag of groceries. Me, a pack of cigarettes. Stein had insisted I go and get them for him, but the thing was, I had just bought him a pack yesterday. Oh great. When he smoked more than usual, it meant that he was worried. It had to be the madness creeping up on him again. Damn it. When would this all end?

I tugged open the door for Marie. The second I stepped through the door, I knew something was wrong. The house was _empty._ Marie and I locked eyes for only a moment before the two of us split though the small house, looking for Stein.

"Stein!" Marie ran out the door shortly followed by me.

"Stitches," I thought in his direction, "Where the hell have you gone?"

Death the Kid's POV

I stood on the front steps next to Ryuka, the sun was just peeking over the horizon. I felt her had squeeze onto mine. I lightly clutched back before turning to meet her eyes. My skateboard, Beelzebub, Rested beneath on of my feet. Liz and Patty Stood down the walk, waiting for my order. I looked back over to Ryuka. She was crying so hard that she was shaking.

"I'll be back," I kissed her smoothly, cradling her face in my hands and wiping her tears with my thumbs, "I promise."

She looked into my eyes before flinging her arms around my neck. I returned her embrace, holding her trembling body in my arms, "I'll be here waiting," she whispered before releasing me.

As I took off into the sky holding Liz and Patty, I looked down at her and Silver on the porch. _Stay Safe. _I whispered into her thoughts before jetting off into the sky.

A/N: PHEW! Finally done! Thought I would never finish this! A lot of stuff happened in this chapter. They had sex. I think some people's reaction to that would be like: FINALLY! Another thing: Stein disappeared. No I know there are some of you who are going to go off on my about how: THAT'S NOT THE ORDER IN THE ORIGONAL STORYLINE! Weill I shall have you know that I am well aware of that and don't need to be told! I just wanted to mix it up a little because it fit better into this story! ANYWAY! Enough of my ramblings! REVIEW FOR ME! And I have a request for my readers…If you favorite my story, Why don't you review it? I'm not talking to the ones that do review, Because you guys are amazing! But those who have favoreited, REVIEW FOR CRYING OUT LOUD! I still have no idea why you like my story at all! The Next Chapter should be called: Waiting. I WILL SEE YOU ALL THEN!


	22. Waiting

Chapter 22: Waiting

Ryuka's POV

I stood inside the Death Room. A million monitors and mirrors surrounded me. Silver's tiny hand was intertwined into mine. Spirit stood to my right, scanning the monitors beside him. Azusa stood to my left, adjusting her glasses and skimming over each monitor repetitively. I had only met Azusa a few hours ago and knew that I didn't like her at all. She was too strict for my taste. Lord Death stood in front of me, eyes focused solely on his mirror. As is he were watching for something.

My heart had been beating insanely since Kid had left this morning. Lately it had seemed like the end of the world. My father was still nowhere to be found. My Mother, Marie, and Chrona had left early this morning to investigate and according to my mother's reports, they had made no progress. I was really worried about, well, everybody. Kid was on his was to who the hell knows where. My father was no where to be found. Four of my best friends were MIA. This apocalyptic world was becoming to much to bear and needed to end. The Kishin needed to be stopped.

_Kid, _I thought, _Wherever you are, just please be safe. I won't be able to take the madness of this world alone._

Death the Kid's POV

I flew through the sky on Beelzebub, Liz in one hand and Patty in the other.

"Um, Kid?" Liz's voice said into my mind, cutting me out of my trance, "What are we doing flying into the middle of nowhere like this?"

"It's not like it was _my _decision," I groaned, focusing onto the horizon, "And I would really rather not talk about it, okay?"

"Yeah, fine. But do you think you could at least give us an idea of where we're going?" She persisted on, her eyes reflecting onto the side of the gun.

"I suppose that's fair enough," I sighed, blinking and continuing on forward, "We're going to a place called Sarcophagus."

"Sarcophagus?"

"That's right, and it's aptly named too," I sighed, looking at the ground below me. I had heard the background story from my father only days before, but it still felt as if it had been an eternity.

"And why is that?" Liz asked, fear beginning to edge into her voice. I still hadn't understood why they hadn't been able to come with me to the briefing. Leave it to dad to make me have to explain everything.

"It used to be an ordinary village like any other, but that was twenty years ago. Things have changed."

"Changed how?"

"Well," My tone was almost bored, "One day all of it's citizens disappeared. Every last one of them."

"WHAT?" She cried in horror, "How could all those people vanish into thin air?"

"To this day, no one knows," I answered calmly, "The people sent to investigate vanished just like the village's citizens. Gone without a trace. After awhile, the investigation was given up. It would've been too dangerous to continue. The area was locked down to prevent further disappearances. That's where we're going."

I could immediately feel fear sweep into Liz's soul wavelength. She was already freaking out and we weren't even there yet. Stress was just what she need with being pregnant and all. Perfect.

"There it is!" I called as we approached a hastily patched dome, "That's Sarcophagus."

Ryuka's POV

"We've lost contact with the thirteenth squadron," a radioed voice echoed through the room, "fifteen and seventeen, circle around and attack the enemy in area thirty four."

I bit my lower lip. Luckily, I hadn't heard any news on anyone that I had known…yet. There was always that chance. Silver issued a reassuring squeeze to my hand. I weakly smiled and squeezed back, knowing that she may have been worse than I had right now.

"It sounds like it's complete chaos out there," Azusa stated, eyes flicking from monitor to monitor.

"All and all, I'd say that things could be going better," Spirit sighed, looking up at the ceiling with an almost bored expression on his face.

"Maybe it's time we assisted them in battle," Azusa insisted, glaring at Spirit in the process.

"And just _what orders _are we supposed to give?" Spirit spat in response, glaring back at her.

"I don't know," she was on the brink of shouting, "but anything would be better than just sitting here and doing nothing while they fight."

"Well that's were you got it wrong," Spirit snapped back, "If we just give them orders at random it could make things even more confusing."

"I really hate to say this," I pointed to the red-head, "but I agree with Spirit on this one. I mean it's already hectic enough out there. If we add more confusion to the mix, there could be more lives at stake. With all of our meisters, weapons, soldiers, students, and other agent's out there, who knows what the casualties will be."

Azusa adjusted her glasses, giving us one of her creepy, Miss Committee Chairman glares which she was famous for. Spirit and I backed away simultaneously, "Not the scary face again," We whined in sync.

"Just listen to the three of you," Lord Death sighed, causing the three of us to stop glaring at one another and look up at the reaper in surprise, "Sometimes I envy your freedom. You can go wherever you want. Do whatever you want. Whenever you want. You can take real action. You aren't chained here. Ya know what I mean?"

Suddenly the two of the Death Scythes looked deeply developed in thoughts. I sunk into the state of deep thought. Lord Death's soul was rooted here. The only way he would ever be able to leave was if the city grew legs, which would be really, REALLY strange. I knew that if he had been able, he'd of been the first to leave to hunt down the Kishin. That was for sure.

Death the Kid's POV

"See that?" I asked, looking up at the asymmetrical wall in disgust, "That wall was hastily built. Almost like the builders were desperately trying to cover something up before anyone saw it." _Just like the academy is doing now, _I thought as I continued to stare at the wall. It was true that my father had begun to tell me less and less when it came to what he was planning. It had been irritating, and even with the research on my own, I still felt as if I didn't know enough. It was driving me insane, not knowing what I was even getting the last magic tool for. What was even the point of all this?

"This place is giving me the creeps," Liz whined from behind me, "Maybe we should forget the mission, huh?"

Then Patty started cracking up before shouting, "I HOPE I SEE A MONSTER!"

"DON'T SAY STUFF LIKE THAT! ARE YOU CRAZY?" Liz shouted, blue eyes wide in fear and paranoia. She looked over at me, meeting my eyes. Well it all went down hill from there, "NONONONO! Not happening! I am not going in there! You know I can't deal with creepy places! Especially with my baby at stake! I've even got a _doctors note _that strictly states for me to stay away from creepy stuff!" She fumbled through her pockets and then looked up at me, "Do you wanna see it? I'll show it to you."

"You can calm down," I sighed, "I'm not taking the two of you with me."

"Seriously?" Liz asked, looking up at me, "Kid, don't shut me out again! Even with my baby, I can still work with you!"

"I have no idea what caused those disappearances. I could be a monster, or a virus, or maybe even some kind of chemical weapon. But one thing we do know for sure: No human who has ever gone in there has ever come back out alive. I can't risk the two of you or your baby like that. I don't even know what we would be up against. It would just simply be to dangerous."

"As much to hate to admit it," She ran her hand over he protruding stomach, her eyebrows knitting together, "but you have a point there."

"I'm guessing that's why dad sent me instead of another meister. My reaper body is more durable than any normal humans."

"Even if it is," she looked up from her stomach, meeting my eyes, "It's still dangerous."

"I know, but that doesn't matter now. My dad has made his policies on this very clear. The top priority is the magic tools. Nothing else matters," I turned around and began to walk towards the entryway, "If I don't come out in forty minutes, head for the academy. Go strait there," I locked eyes with Liz, "You will not come after me." _Instead of sending me out to fight the Kishin, dad gives me this mission. Well, soon enough I'll see just what is so important about this tool._

Sanguine's POV

The wind blew so hard that it was making it difficult to walk strait. My black cloak blew so fiercely that parts of the hood blocking my sight, and half the time it was near being torn from my body. I had to squint to keep the sand out of my eyes. Marie was a few paces ahead of me. Chrona only a few paces behind.

I was worried about Stein. I'm not even the worrying type, but he was my _meister._ Stein had been my best friend since we were both fifteen. He knew me better than anybody. I couldn't lose that. Not my best friend. Not my daughter's father.

"Hey, San!" Marie shouted through the wind, "Anything new on Stein? Can you pick up his thoughts?"

I concentrated, Searching for his wavelength. Then I was pulled into dark thought processor without even being acknowledged.

Death the Kid's POV

I walked through the silent village, hearing my footsteps echo through the small town was almost eerie. This place was creepy. Really creepy.

_Where is this magic tool supposed to be anyways? _

I looked in each direction. This was insane. I couldn't find it anywhere. Where the hell was it supposed to be? Then I saw it. A deep crater had been carved into the ground. Inside there…rested a small building. Wait, A building like that? It looked suspicious, like the tool could possibly be there. I slid a flashlight from my pocket and clicked it on as I stepped down into the stairwell. It was dark down here. Dank even. But something else about this place just didn't feel right. Like it was hiding something. I turned to where I was facing the other wall, "just where the hell am I?" I asked aloud before proceeding further into the tunnel. It looked like some sort of ancient ruin. I stepped off of the bottom step and inched towards the center of the room.

It was almost like the center of a three ring circus gone wrong. A large ball sat in the center of the room. Something large stuck out the top. I took a step forward, easing my hand onto it's cool handle. It felt as if it hadn't been touched in centuries.

I tugged it out of it's place, "It looks like a key," I let the end of it rest in my palm, "The biggest key that I've ever seen," I glanced over my shoulder and took a step back, "This all seems to easy. What's supposed to be protecting this thing?" I looked around, servicing the area. But that's when the lights came on with a sudden flash. My eyebrows began to knit together as four searchlights swirled around me. Was this some kind of joke?

My thoughts were all interrupted when I heard the haunting drag of metal as it walked closer from behind me. Wait…WALKED? I looked over my shoulder to see the creepiest robot in the world walking towards me. It almost looked like a clown. A completely asymmetrical, robotic, creep-ass clown. It chuckled, "Are you qualified?" It asked in a somewhat high pitched metallic voice.

Sanguine's POV

It's so dark here…

_It hurts…it hurts…_

Block out the pain…it's not real…

_I'm scared…it's scary here…_

Fear is non existent…you don't feel fear…it's a faulty emotion…

I had entered Stein's mind, that was for sure. It was insanely dark in here. It smelled like blood. I looked around, trying to get any hint of where he might be. It smell like candle in scents where ever he was. Then an image flickered into view. A small girl in a black cloak flicked into view. She had cold golden eyes and short dirty blonde hair. Medusa. I hadn't seen that face since the night that it nearly killed my daughter.

I came back out of his mind with a thud. I was on my back before I knew it. My breathing was shallow and fast.

"San!" Marie knelt down over me, "Are you okay?"

I sat up. The wind around us had stopped entirely. I wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand, "I'm fine," I stood up and brushed the sand off of my skinny jeans, "I know where Stein is."

"R-Really?" Chrona asked, "Where?"

"He's with her," My eyebrows slanted down. Eyes narrowing, He's with Medusa."

"We already knew that, San," Marie crossed her arms as pulled my hood back on, "That's nothing new."

"We're close," I said taking a step away from them, "I know we are."

_Stitches, if you can hear me, we're coming for you_

Death the Kid's POV

I dodged another blow from the robotic clown as it scuttled towards me. Damn this thing was fast. I dashed up the step and into a narrow corridor. I turned and looked over my shoulder after hearing a small crash. A smirk crept it's way onto my face, "What's the matter are you stuck?" I asked. Of course with it's large body there was no way that it would be able to follow me. What a poor security system. I slowly began to trudge my way up the steps, but was interrupted by the sound of gears turning. I turned back and looked and saw the clown snaking it's way up the stairs directly behind me, "NOT GOOD!" I shouted racing up the steps, skipping every other one in the process.

I leapt out of the building, the clowns teeth nearly grazing the soles of my shoes. I hit the opposite platform with a running start. I began to climb steps. Turn. More Steps. I looked back over my shoulder. Still stuck in the top of the building. Excellent. I smiled to myself. Now all I had to do was make it back to Liz and Patty and I was home free. I turned but then was stopped at a tug on my ankle.

"What's that?" I asked aloud. Then I looked down to reveal a large white hand surrounding my ankle. The next thing I knew, I was tossed up into the air. What The HELL?, "There are two? I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!"

I crashed into the side of a nearby building. I felt a few drops of blood come out of my mouth as I hit the stone wall full force. I slid down the wall and hit the ground with a thud as I landed on my back. There is only one word to describe how it felt: Ow.

The two clowns creaked over towards me, studying me with their freakish faces. I made a mental note to never attend another circus again, "Chow time," They droned in their high pitched metallic tones. I saw drool drip from the edges of their chins as they leaned over me. I sprang up and dashed off, propelling myself down the street with them nipping at my heels. Then they moved to the buildings above me, moving in chris-cross patterns over my head. Of course, this meant that they could drop down on me at any time. I dove into a nearby window and dashed through to the other side.

I turned to look behind me, just in time to see them drop down with exact precision, "Still coming, then?" I asked in barely a whisper. Then something hit me.

Perfect Symmetry.

No Symmetry.

Perfect Symmetry.

My eyes where trapped in a horrific trance as I watched in awe, "Not Symmetrical at all. Now perfectly Symmetrical. Then not Symmetrical at all," I muttered as I watched their graceful dance through the skies above me. That's when I got stabbed in the face, causing me to fall forward.

I groaned and propped myself up on one arm, "Oh, the destructive power of true beauty," I agonizingly said under my breath. I stood up, taking off down the path. Just a bit further. Just a bit further. Almost there. I'm almost there. They were getting closer. Closer. Closer.

Then the first one caught me in the foot, sending me flailing forward onto my face. They leaned over me. Both of my arms were pinned down. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to run. I was going to die.

BANG! BANG!

I sat up. My arms were free. The clowns had been knocked on their backs.

"Hi, Kid!" Patty smiled and winked as she twirled Liz around her trigger finger, "We just came to check on you!"

Ryuka's POV

No new news. Nothing from anywhere. If I hadn't known any better, I would have been having a panic attack. I glanced over one shoulder at Silver. She lay sleeping at the corner of the room. It had been a long day for both of us, but I refused to sleep until I knew that Kid was okay. Please, please let him be Okay.

"Um…Hello?" I radioed voice called in, "Can you hear me?"

Shinigami-Sama, Spirit, Azusa, and I looked up from out daze. That voice. I felt my heart leap. Kid's voice, "Loud and Clear," stated Azusa as she adjusted her glasses.

"I've recovered the last magic tool and am making my way back to Death City," He let out a tired sigh, "I'll be there as soon as I possibly can. Kid out."

I smiled and folded my hands over my heart. He was coming home. He would be in my arms again soon.

A/N: ALL DONE! YEAH! Okay, so I had to watch episode 43, like, a million times to get all of this in the best order that I possibly could. I want you all to REVIEW, because I worked really, REALLY hard on this! The next chapter will be called: Come Back. And I must inform all of my readers that after this chapter there will only be FOUR more chapters in the story! Things are coming to a close! I want to hear **EVERY READER'S **voice by the end of this story! See you all in the next chapter! ^^


	23. Come Back

Chapter 23: Come Back

Sanguine's POV

"Um…" Marie looked back and forth, "Maybe this way?"

I crossed my arms and felt my eyebrows begin to knit together. We had been going in circles for hours. This had lost a point on the first wrong turn. Chrona stood next to Marie, looking both worried and kind of frustrated . Then again, Chrona always looked like that, but this time it was different. Ever since I had managed to slip into Stein's madness-infected mind, Chrona had seemed different. As if he were deep in thought.

"Marie," it almost sounded like a groan, "We've been going in circles all day long. And guess what, Marie, We haven't made any progress on finding him! This is insane!" I kicked a rock sending it skittering across the ground. I hated this! In the midst of the end of the world as we knew it and Marie was leading us in circles all around this damned place!

"I had no idea that you cared so much," Marie leaned against a tree, "I want to find him just as much as you, but now, Sanguine, now you just sound desperate."

I felt weak inside. She was right, I _did _sound desperate. Probably because I was. Stein was my best friend. My meister. Life without him would be a living hell. He knew every inch of me. He'd been places where no one else had. He knew me better than anyone. He knew the way my mind worked. And even if I would die before I said it. Even if I would never say it to his face. I loved him.

"Marie," I brushed past her and Chrona and walked down the strait path, "Let's get going."

It was all going well until Marie spotted another sign. It pointed in two different directions and I could swear that I could see about a billion blonde hairs stand up on her hair, "Over here?" her voice sounded severely shaken. She turned to go in the opposite direction.

"It's this way," Chrona and I said in sync, pointing in the opposite direction. She turned and looked at us but then let out a tired sigh before following behind the two of us. After a few minutes of walking, a building came into view. It was narrow at the bottom then widened in the middle before narrowing once again to a point at the top. It was wrapped up in vector arrows. I felt my brow slant down and my eyes narrow. _Stitches, here we come. _

Ryuka's POV

I stood behind Spirit in the Death Room, peering over his shoulder. Things hadn't dies down at all, not even a little bit. And Kid still wasn't back yet. And my father was still missing. I wanted to cry but I didn't dare. Not in front of Silver, or Lord Death, or the two Death Scythes in the room.

The monitors flashed in codes and signs that didn't mean a thing to me. The charts didn't look all that great, but I couldn't be sure because it was nearly impossible to tell if I reading them correctly. I was tempted to ask Spirit, but I got the feeling that he wasn't entirely sure either. And neither of us wanted to ask aloud, because Azusa would only call us stupid.

I had never really cared much for Spirit. He was annoying. He got on my very last nerve and he was a total pervert. But now, the Spirit I knew him as was gone. Now he was quiet, and focused. His blue eyes seemed almost…sad? This was crazy. I slowly eased my way into his mind to find out what had happened.

_Maka…Please Maka…Please Be Safe…Your All That I've Got…Maka…_

I reeled out of his mind and looked at him with something I never thought I'd give Spirit…Pity. He was feeling just as bad as I was, yet he managed to hide it everywhere except inside his eyes.

I sat my hand on his shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. He looked over his shoulder, his crystal eyes meeting my olive-gold ones. I gave him a small smile. He weakly smiled back and sat his hand atop mine, tears beginning to well in the corners of his eyes. Then he did something unexpected. He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Thank you," He said, a few tear drops falling onto my shoulder. After a moment, I patted his back, feeling awkward about the whole situation.

"It's going to be okay, Spirit," I said as he let go and wiped the tears from his face, "Everyone's going to be home and this will all be over before you know it."

Then Silver stood up and walked over towards us and took one of Spirit's hands that hung at his side, "Excuse me, mister?"

Spirit smiled and squatted down beside her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "What is it sweetheart?"

Silver closed her eyes and then smiled, "Maka is just fine," Then her brows slanted down, "Ryuka?"

I bent down to her level an focused in on her, "What is it, Sil?"

"Kid's getting close," Her eyes opened, "And your mom is getting closer to Granddaddy Stein."

Sanguine's POV

It was dark in this place. Each foot step echoed around the empty, column-filled halls. Marie scanned the halls, trying to decide which direction to go in, "It's this way," Chrona sighed as he brushed past her.

Once we got into the big open room, I saw him. Stein. Medusa sat in the center of his lap.

"You Damned WITCH!" I snarled, letting my entire arm transform into my three foot, blood-red blade. I was glaring at her from where I stood.

The tiny child witch looked up at me, a creepily happy gleam in her eyes, "Oh, Hello Sanguine, Marie, and," Her voice almost went into a growl, "Chrona. So nice to see all of you again," She leaned back in Stein's lap, "But Stein and I are having some alone time now, so if you could excuse us."

"MEDUSA!" Marie's lower arm transformed into a silver and yellow hammer, "Why are you holding Stein here?"

"You really are stupid," She said swing her legs playfully, "He's here at his own free will. I didn't make him come here. And odds are that he's not ever coming back with you," I felt the surprise creep up onto both Marie and I, "Not Ever. Chrona, why are you here?"

The pinkette stiffened, holding Ragnarok in his skinny hand. You could see the nervousness snake it's way into his powder blue eyes. His fingertips shook as he held the sword. His frail body looked as if it may collapse in on itself. This was his mother after all. He was supposed to kill his own witch of a mother.

"I don't understand why you are," she stood as a vector arrow slithered it's way across one of her arms, "I mean, it's not like anyone could ever expect you to accomplish such a mission. Like you have the strength to kill your own mother!" She threw her head back and cackled, "Don't make me laugh!"

I saw Chrona grind his teeth together. His thin, pink brows slanted down. A small flame lit up in his powder eyes. Chrona was a bit of a weakling, but he did have some strength where it counted. In his soul, "Your aren't my mother," He mumbled under his breath, clutching Ragnarok tightly in his hand.

"What was that dear?" Medusa playfully cocked her head to the side, "Your going to have to speak up if you expect me to understand you."

My eyes narrowed, "Stop playing with us," I snarled, taking a step closer, "Give me back my meister, Medusa."

"Oh?" Her eyebrows slanted down as she stood up, "_Your Meister, _huh?"

"San," Marie whispered, looking over at me, "What the hell are you doing?"

"_My Meister,"_ I said my eyes glaring full on at the witch.

"Well if you want him so bad," A large vector blade grew into her hand. Black and purple static snakes coiled from everywhere around her, "Come and get him."

Death The Kid's POV

I jetted forward on Beelzebub, feeling the wind rush through my hair. It was a nice feeling to jet over the city and smell it's familiar smell. It was an even better feeling to know that I could see Ryuka again soon. Eibon was strapped to my back and I held one of my partners in each hand.

"Hey, Kid," Liz started, "Do you have any idea what your father wants to use this tool for?"

"To defend the academy I suppose," I said as I began my decent, "But I'm not sure how it works, so I couldn't tell you for sure."

I landed and slid Beelzebub out from under my hand before dissolving it into my palm. Liz and Patty flipped from my hand, transforming in mid-air and landing behind me. They stretched as they stood. Then I was met into a fierce hug.

"KID!" Ryuka cried, throwing her arms around me and hugging me tight. I smiled and returned her embrace. She clung to my coat, her fingers gripping tightly. I had one hand between her shoulder blades, the other on her lower back as I pressed her body to mine.

"I'm here," I whispered, feeling her hair fall over my fingers, "Right here."

She pulled out and smiled before kissing me full on the mouth, arms around my neck, nit caring who saw us. I cupped her face in my hands, kissing her back. I could feel a single tear trail down her face before I brushed it away with my thumb. She pulled out and then began to hug me tightly again.

"I love you, Kid," She continued to hug me, "I love you so much."

"I know," I said with a smile, "I love you too."

She reached behind me and pulled out the magic tool. "Is this what you had to go get?" She asked, turning it in her hand to look at it, "It looks like a giant key."

"My father asked me to retrieve it. I have no idea what it even does."

Then a heavy blush coated her face and she had a sudden interest in her boots, "Um…Kid…about your Father…"

A soft laugh accidentally escaped my lips, "What is it, Ryuka? I don't think I've ever seen you blush that badly before."

"He…um…knows."

I emitted another soft laugh, "He knows a lot. What could he possibly have found out?"

"He knows...about that night," she stuttered, her face darkening even worse in color.

Then I realized what she was talking about. But, how could he have known. I didn't tell. She didn't tell. Liz didn't tell. There weren't and mirrors…"

Shit.

There was a full length mirror in her room. AND IT WAS FACING THE BED! Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT! I would have to make a mental note to either remove that mirror or cover it up next time or do it in my room. SOMETHING! God, father was such a pervert. Did he just sit and watch or…

Gross, Nevermind. _Really _Gross.

I could feel the heat rising on my face, "Oh," I looked at her and managed a small nervous laugh, "Now I have to marry you."

"WHAT?" She shouted, the blush getting (unbelievably) worse, "YOU MUST BE JOKING!"

"No," I said, a playful smile on my face as I took her left hand in mine, "Shinigami rules, I had sex with you, so now I have to marry you."

"Well," she bit her lower lip, "Just _don't _tell my parents, or I won't be alive long enough to marry you."

Then we both started laughing and I slid my hand into my pocket. I felt the ring and smiled. "Hey, Ryuka?" I squeezed her hand in mine before sliding down onto one knee, "Can I ask you something?" Tears began to well up at the corners of her eyes, but she smiled and nodded. I pulled the ring from my pocket. It's onyx band shined in dark beauty. It had a circular diamond in the center, surrounded by small black jewels. It was a dark ring, but it suited us. Death and his Mistress, "I know you said that you would, but to make it official," I pulled the ring into full view, "Ryuka Amora Cross, I love you. And I want to spend the rest of my life and all eternity with you. I want to wake up each morning to your smile. For the first thing I smell everyday to be the perfume of your skin. What I'm trying to say is, Ryuka, will you Marry me?"

Tears streamed down her face. She smiled, her olive-gold eyes shining before nodding and allowing me to slip the band onto her ring finger. She knelt down on both knees and hugged me as we both sat down on the ground, our arms surrounding each other.

Sanguine's POV

I lunged forward, but was immediately sent back. Medusa's blade was getting much to close for comfort. I jumped back, letting Chrona go forward. He charged towards Medusa, Ragnarok pointed strait at her. I leaped over to the platform where Marie stood on the opposite side of Stein.

I could tell his mind was diseased. This wasn't him. Not the real him. Not my meister. He staggered forward a bit, like a zombie, "What are you two doing here?" he asked, madness pooling from his voice, "Your supposed to be dead."

I wasn't even sure what he was talking about, but it was freaking me out.

"Stein," I said, stepping closer to him, "It's us. We're alive and we're here to save you. It's okay."

"No," He hissed, his hands now glowing with his soul wavelength, "Not real."

He shot his Soul Force directly at us. Marie jumped to the side, but I stopped it with my blood red blade, "STEIN!" I cried as he rammed it sharply into me, "COME BACK!"

A/N: This Chapter is too short, but I can't write on it anymore. I'll get to caught up in the next one. ONLY THREE CHAPTERS LEFT IN THIS STORY! I'm just happy that I'm finally finished, because I was having severe writers blocks…Anyway, REVIEW PLEASE! I'm so close to 100 reviews, so please help me achieve my goal! OKAY? The next chapter will be called Home. AND I WILL SEE YOU ALL THEN! ^^


	24. Home

Chapter 24: Home

Sanguine's POV

Stein's wavelength was powerful and sent a sharp surge through my blade. I winced slightly as he proceeded to charge me. I switched places with Marie at the last second, allowing her to block him with her hammer. I looked over at Chrona, and he wasn't doing to well.

"CHRONA!" I leapt towards his platform, but was knocked out of the way by Stein. Medusa was going to kill Chrona on the spot. Her own child. No. She couldn't do that. It was against all humanity. It-

I was suddenly blasted harshly by Stein's soul wavelength. I sucked in a harsh breath, but instantly collapsed to the ground, clutching my lower left side. I could already feel my blood oozing between my fingers. I heard Marie shout my name, but everything had already gone black.

***FLASHBACK***

I could feel Stein's cool fingers holding on to my hand. My eyes felt almost too heavy to open. I was too tired. Too weak. My hair stuck to my forehead and neck. My entire body (especially my lower regions) was throbbing. My breathing felt almost too heavy. But I could feel his hand holding mine. I finally mustered up enough strength to open my eyes and give his hand a small squeeze.

"San?" he asked, his hand immediately feeling my forehead, "You're already awake? You should close your eyes and rest some more." He pressed down lightly on my shoulders, as if I were fragile and he didn't want to break me.

"I'm fine stitches," even my voice sounded tired. Then shock hit me and I immediately sprang to where I was sitting upright, "Where's my baby?"

"Whoa there," A doctor walked in and lightly forced me back down, "Take it easy Ms. Cross."

I looked strait into the doctor's eyes, "Where is my baby?" I asked again, a growl edging in my voice. Note to anyone out there who want's to become a doctor: when a woman has just given birth, don't pull shit that you know will piss them off.

"Ms. Cross," He doctor patted my arm, "You just gave birth not even an hour ago and are still going through the afterbirth phase. You should be asleep now, but something must've woken you up. Maybe an under dosage…"

"I don't care!" I growled, "Let me see my baby girl!"

"But ma'am-"

I gave him a heart-stopping glare.

He gulped and then looked at me, "I'll go get her now," he said before exiting the room.

Stein laughed and squeezed my hand beside me, "Wow, San!" he was cracking up, "I thought that guy was gonna piss his pants!"

I laughed weakly, due to pain in my lower abdomen, "Did you see her, Stein?"

He made a small nod, "She had so much hair for a newborn. I only got a glimpse of her, but she was a small baby, but not too small. Just on the tiny end of the scale. She was covered in blood. So much blood…"

I closed my eyes and gave him a weak smirk, "They don't call me the bloody sword for nothing."

Then the door clicked open and a nurse came in carrying a small bundle of white cloth. She smiled and held it out to me before pressing it into my arms. And then I saw her. My baby girl.

She had way more hair than a normal newborn would. It was thick and black, but then faded to Stein's silvery hair color at the tips. Her eyes barely opened, but I could see that they were his eye color. Her smooth skin was slightly paler than mine, but not as pale as his was.

"She's so beautiful," I smiled and held her out to Stein, "Our daughter."

He smiled and then took her into his arms. She reached up and playfully ran her hand on his face, "I love you," He whispered, looking at her tiny face. I smiled and reached over, setting my hand on his.

He looked up at me, a smile still on his face. I smirked. Then he leaned over and kissed my forehead. Right now, even if we weren't in love. Even if we were an imperfect family. Right now was perfect.

***END*OF*FLASHBACK***

"Ung…" I groaned, sitting up. My body felt as if it had been run over by a hundred, six ton elephants. I forced my eyes open and looked around. Marie was unconscious on the ground, looking like she had been slammed into a wall. Chrona and Maka (When the hell did she get here?) were on the other side of the room. Chrona lay bleeding in Maka's arms. His eyes were closed. I looked over at Stein, who was laughing uncontrollably near Medusa.

I drew my blade back out of my arm and dashed towards the ledge which they stood on, "MEDUSA!" I Hit the hard surface with my blade, causing it to crack. The witch flew in one direction, my meister in the other, "STEIN!" I shouted, leaping in the direction that he was headed. I caught him mid air and tackled him onto another platform.

I landed on to of him, holding him in a full on straddle, pinning his arms down to either side of them as he laughed manically, "Stein! Listen to me! STEIN! It's Sanguine! YOUR PARTNER! COME BACK!" I shrieked (something severely unlike me) as he continued to cackle beneath me.

I closed my eyes, tears pooling in the corners of them, and I never cry. Not ever, "Stein, please," I pressed my forehead to his chest, "For mine and Ryuka's sake." His laughter cut off, "to stop the Kishin." Then I was inside of his mind.

Death the Kid's POV

The four of us stood outside a room in the underground parts of the academy. Ryuka's hand rested inside of my own. I could feel how tense she was through her wavelength. The last time that she was down here, was the time that she had almost died. When I had saved her.

"Hey, Kid," Liz asked to one side of me, "Does this place look familiar to you?"

"Yeah," I said, meeting her blue eyes, "The so-called contractor is working in there."

_This strange key is the reason for the Academy's recent secrecy. I know that their hiding something. _I tightened my grip on the tool and stepped forward, _And the answer is behind this door. _I pushed the door open and walked in, Ryuka sticking close to me, followed by Liz and Patty.

"You did a great job, Kid!" My father marveled as I entered the room with the tool in my hand. "Thanks for takin' on that mission for your old man!"

Then Blair and two of her friends slid over towards us, "Hiya there Cutie!" Ryuka tightened her grip on my hand. Her eyebrows slanted down. She was so cute. No, Sorry! Gotta stay focused!

Joe stepped off of the latter and towards me, "The Magic Tool Please," He reached for it in my hand but I immediately jerked away.

"Kid," Ryuka whispered, "What are you doing?"

"Before I hand it over," I said, pulling it behind me, "I want to know exactly how you plan to use it. What exactly does this magic tool do? And why do you want it?"

"Oh!" Father tilted his head to the side. "Alright!"

My jaw dropped. WHAAAT? How could he just tell me so easily? That's when I started freaking out, "Whoa! Hold on a second! But you've been so secretive! And so Dodgy! And now you're just going to tell me? You're going to tell me just cause I asked? I don't understand! What's going on?"

"Kid! Calm Down!" Ryuka said next to me.

Joe sat his hand on my shoulder, "Sorry about all of that, but we couldn't just tell anybody. We had to make sure that it would be a secret operation. Got it? We had to make sure that our plan was kept from Arachne and the Kishin."

"Really?" Liz asked with mock sarcasm in her voice, "So we've been suspicious for no reason? Huh? Who would've thought?"

"But now," Joe smiled, "We've got the magic tool in our hands. So we can afford to be a bit more open." The three girls nodded on the couch.

"Okay," I looked up from the ground, "So tell me what it does then."

Father reached over and pulled the sword away from me, "Well, this little guy as you know, is the last magical tool that Eibon ever created." Then he began to explain piece by piece.

Stein's POV

"STEIN!" I heard my name echo through my diseased mind.

"Who's there?" I asked, looking in each direction, "Can you make the noise stop? Do I destroy it? She said that it couldn't be fixed."

"Stein," Her voice was so familiar. I knew it so well, "The sound is part of you. Just accept it."

I moved my hands from the side of my head, and heard no noise, "It stopped."

"It's always been there, Stein," She sat her hand on my shoulder, "Now let's go home."

I turned and looked over my shoulder. There she stood. Her hair black until the blood-red last six inches. Her eyes matching the ends of her hair. She gave me a smile instead of her usual smirk, "Please come back with me, Stein," She knelt down behind me, "I need you." I sat my hand on hers and then the darkness began to fade.

Sanguine's POV

I opened my eyes and pulled my head off of his chest, "Stein?"

He opened his eyes and smiled at me, "Hey San."

"Stein!" Then I did something totally and completely out of character. I threw my arms around his neck and tackled him into a hug.

"San," He groaned, "Can you please get off of me. Your heavy…"

Then I sat up, still sitting on him and slapped him hard in the face.

"Ouch. What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his now pink cheek.

"That was for leaving AND for calling me heavy!" I said before we both started cracking up. I rolled off of him until I was sitting beside him.

"Thank you, Sanguine," He said before pressing his forehead to mine. Then it was his turn to do something out of character, he kissed me.

"Um…Excuse me?" Marie started, causing the two of us to pull apart, "But we have a witch to take care of."

"Right," Stein and I said at the same time, before I transformed onto my three foot long blade and landed easily into his palm. He spun me twice, before jumping over next to Maka and Marie.

"Maka, listen to me," Stein said, "We're going to need to use resonance link."

"Right!" Maka said in response, joining all five of our souls together. The radiating power of just one resonance was a lot, but the thrill of all five of us matching was exhilarating.

_Maka, _Stein's voice echoed through everyone's mind, _Marie, San, and I are going to create a diversion. You and Soul are then going to deliver the final blow._

_But, Professor, how do we do that?_

_Do I really have to answer? _Then Stein charged forward holding me in his palm.

Ryuka's POV

"Now, Let us begin," Eibon (Who was one of the strangest looking, but had the saddest history, person I had ever seen) said, "Brew, unlock." Then there was a bright flash in a rainbow of colors as the floating blue box exploded open.

"And so it begins," Excalibur (Even Weirder than Eibon) stated, holding his cane proudly out in front of him. Then the box began to expand, growing larger and larger with each passing second.

"What's it doing?" Kid asked, his golden eyes focused on the growing tool.

"I-It's getting bigger and bigger!" Exclaimed Blair as we all watched in awe . I tightened my hold on Kid's hand and he gave a reassuring squeeze back.

"Look closely everyone," Excalibur shouted over the noise, "This is Eibon's ultimate creation. The magic tool Brew is assuming it's true form."

The blue box slammed back together to form a giant wall with a large keyhole in the center. It then backed into the wall. What was happening? I could feel power radiating throughout the room. It was almost like the power of resonance. Grey.

No, I had to stop thinking about him. I missed him. But right now, I had to stay focused on what was happening.

Eibon then raised his hand and sent the key flying into the keyhole. Eibon turned and nodded at Lord Death to signify that the tool was ready. The reaper nodded in response and scooted closer to the tool.

"Dad," Kid cut in, his fingers slipping from mine. I reached out towards him, but his hand was out of reach, "What exactly does the magic tool do? What is it's power?"

"Brew is a unique device. It's power lies in it's ability to take whatever form that it's wielder desires."

"How is that even possible?" I asked, squeezing my way into the conversation.

"It becomes tuned to the wielder's soul," Joe said from behind the two of us, "Then it measure's the strength of the wielder's desire and adjusts itself accordingly."

Eibon stood and floated up towards the keyhole, "Good luck, Lord Death," He began to fade into place, "Save the world," And then he was gone.

Lord Death bounced over to the tool and popped his knuckles, "Okay then. Let's get this party started!" Then a glowing yellow circle erupted from the ground surrounding the Shinigami. He let out a low groan/scream as the circle whirled around him. I let out a gasp.

"Wh-what's happening?" Kid asked as the glow filled the entire room. I finally found his hand and held it in mine, his fingers wove in between mine in response. Then the entire city began to shake.

_Death City…is moving?_

Sanguine's POV

"That ought to take care of him," Stein said, pulling the covers up around Chrona's waist. Marie and Rachel had already gone to sleep. It was just the two of us right now.

"Is he going to be okay?" I asked, looking from Chrona to my meister.

He looked over at me, "Oh, yeah. He should make a full recovery."

"Hey, Stein?" I looked over at him, "we should talk."

"Look, about the kiss, I-"

I pressed my lips to his. I rolled my fingers up into his hair. He cupped the side of my face in his hand. We pulled apart, my hand still in his hair, his still on the side of my face. I rested my forehead on his.

"Stein, Can I tell you something?"

"Sure, San. Anything you want."

"I love you," I said looking into his eyes. I felt a small blush crawl onto my face.

"San," He kissed me again, "I love you too."

"The thing is," I bit my lower lip, "Neither of us really know what love is."

"I think we can find out together," He said. Then he pressed his lips to mine, and made the kiss deeper and forceful this time.

Death the Kid's POV

All of us had moved into the Death Room. And I kid you not, when Death City moves, no one can stand. As all of us were on our hands and knees, I held Ryuka's hand and she kept Silver, our now legally adopted daughter, under her arm, "DAD! DON'T KILL US!" I shouted, as the room shook back and forth.

"I just can't squash that damn bug!" his voice came from over the intercom. Every time that the other robot moved, Dad would swing to hit it, causing us to be jolted back and forth in a very jerky pattern. He sounded like he was becoming irritated. Then the screen showed that the bug shot him with a laser, "OW! HOT! HOT! REALLY REALLY HOT!"

It was easy to tell that he was becoming fed up with all of this, "Special move: COFFEE TABLE FLIP!"

"WHAT?" We all said at once. There was sudden jolt and then the other bot was flying through the air. A robotic finger poked into the other robot. Then HE SWALLOWED THE KISHIN WHOLE?

Stein's POV

She lie atop my bare chest, tracing the stitches along my body with her index finger. I took in the scent of her hair and relaxed to the feeling, "Hey, San?"

"Yeah," She sighed, continuing to run her fingers over my chest.

"After this is all over, do you want to move back into my place? Marie got her own apartment, so it would just be the two of us once she moves out."

"It would be just like it used to be."

A small smile hit my face, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."

I felt her smirk on my skin, "We aren't the way we used to be, are we Stitches?"

"No we aren't," I said, running my finger through her hair, "We've both changed so much. You've actually grown up, San."

"You have some too. But I like being a teenager. We get to be out there and weird and imperfect. We get to be who we are, no matter what people think of us. We get to be immature when we want, or act civilized when we feel like it."

I laughed with an almost nervous sound, "Civilized?"

"Well yeah," She smirked, "Being a teenager, who doesn't start a riot every once in awhile?"

We both started laughing and then began to drift into sleep. Right now, was probably the best moment in my life that I had in a ling time. Now, everything felt right.

A/N: All Done! Phew! I liked that chapter, it had quite a bit of Stein X Sanguine in there. They're a nice pairing that's imperfect, and I think that's why I like them so much! REVIEW! I was a bit disappointed at only two reviews last chapter, so I would like a few more! I only need five more until I get 100! TWO CHAPTERS LEFT! AHHH! The next chapter will be called: The Kishin. Lame title, I know. I'll more than likely change it because it sucks. I'LL SEE YOU ALL IN THE NEXT CHAPTER!


	25. The Final Battle

Chapter 25: The Final Battle

Ryuka's POV

The entire Death Room shook as the Kishin blew it open from the inside. I immediately grabbed hold of Silver and held her tight in my arms. In the same instant, Kid shielded my body with his. The three of us were instantly blown to the ground. I heard Silver scream as the harsh blast hit the three of us. I clung to Kid for dear life. Then it stopped. I let go of Kid and pushed a piece of the wall off of us.

"Silver? Kid?" I sat up, "Are you guys alright?"

"Ung," Silver sat up beside me, "I'm alright." She rubbed and inch long gash on her forehead, "Just a scratch."

"KID?" I screamed out, racing across the remains of the Death Room. Where was he? Where was he? Then I saw him, "Oh my God," I gasped as I put my hands over my mouth. He was on his knees, in front of Lord Death's mangled body. My mind was racing. My head spun violently. I felt like I was being turned inside out. Over the past few months, Shinigami-Sama had become like a second father to me, and now…Was he really? I felt like I couldn't breathe.

"Dad," His head fell forward, "No." I couldn't imagine how he must've felt. Lord Death _was _his father. He must feel unimaginable pain right now. Worse than I had ever felt. Worse than when I lost Grey…

I felt tears begin to form in the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them go. Too much was happening to cry right now. I had to be strong, but I felt like curling up into a ball and sobbing. I saw Azusa thrown to one side of the room, one of her legs bent at an odd angle. It had to have been broken. Spirit lay at another corner of the room. His shirt looked like it had been burned off. His jacket was severely torn, but still clinging to his body. Silver had that deep gash in her forehead, but other than that she appeared to be okay. Then I saw him. That damned Kishin. It felt like a cold fist closed around my heart. Like a kick to the gut. I felt like I was losing my mind. The demon gave me a smile before jumping out of the Death Room and to the land below.

Then Kid sprang up suddenly, and began to run towards the hole in the wall. I immediately ran after him, and grabbed his arm, "Kid? Just what do you intend to do?"

"It's my duty," He spun me around to face him, "As a Shinigami I have to do this," He placed a forceful kiss on my lips before pulling away an looking intently into my eyes, "If I don't come back, I want you to move on and forget you ever met me. If I lose, you and Silver will go far from here and into hiding. I don't what to think about what the world may be like if I can't manage to kill it. Do you understand?"

There was absolutely no way that I could do that. I would never be able to move on. To forget him. To live like he were never there. I felt like I would die without him, "Kid, I can't-"

He forced another kiss. With each one it was like he was trying to convince me, but at the same time, he didn't want to let go. I knew that I didn't want to let go, "I can't risk you two."

"But I-"

"I love you," He placed one last kiss on me. I felt as if I could burst into tears on the spot. I didn't want to lose him. He meant too much to me. This couldn't be goodbye, "It's going to be okay," and then he jumped into the black orb of darkness below. My fingers were still outstretched where he had been as he disappeared below. Then the tears began to stream down my face.

"I love you too," but my voice was barely audible.

Spirit's POV

My entire body was on fire. I felt as if my skin was being seared off of my body. _We failed, _I thought to myself, _The Kishin is out of our reach again._ I was disappointed in myself. I felt like I hadn't tried hard enough. Like I hadn't fought at me hardest. Like I could've done better.

_Spirit,_ a soothing voice whispered into my mind, _Spirit, I need you to open your eyes for me so that I know your still alive._

I knew that voice, but I couldn't quite place it. I forced my eyes open. Then I recognized the speaker. Ryuka. Her olive-gold eyes were red from crying, but there weren't any traces of tears. She had a huge bruise on he face along the cheekbone and some scrapes on he neck. Her Shoulders badly burned. Her shirt was severely torn, leaving it nearly halfway unbuttoned and the sleeves violently frayed. Her jacket had somehow managed to stay intact, unlike mine, which was burned halfway from my body. Her hair was a mess, and bits of the silver at the ends had been singed black. She leaned over me with her brows slanted down, "Spirit? Can you hear me?"

"Y-yeah," my voice croaked. Even my throat burned. It took so much effort to even talk, and then it just hurt.

"Good," she studied my chest critically, then nodded, "Spirit, do you feel like you can move at all?"

"Maybe..." I said, keeping my eyes locked on hers.

"As much as I hate to do this, I have to take what remains of your jacket off. Hold still for me please. Let me know if it hurts," She reached over to my shoulder and began to pull the material from me a gentle as she could. Unfortunately, even at her most delicate, she still took about two layers of skin along with the remaining pieces of cloth that were once my coat. By the time that she got it all off, I panted for breath and felt tears stinging my eyes.

"Sorry," though she didn't really sound it, but I knew that she meant it, "Wow, you really got burned. Your skin is charred off in some places."

I closed my eyes, "Don't describe it to me, please. I'll get sick at even the thought of it."

"Okay," She leaned over me, exposing even more of her burned and scared torso, "I don't think anything is broken, but I'll have to be able to feel to make sure."

I closed my eyes and nodded, "Okay, go ahead."

She gave me a small nod before placing her hands on my chest and faintly pressing down. I sucked in a breath to hold in a scream. She moved down a little further and lightly pressed again before continuing on the other side. She let a small relieved sigh go before she pulled her timid hands away, "No ribs seem to be broken and everything seems to be alright internally, but you have some insane fever. I can even feel it on your chest," She looked over her shoulder, "Silver, can you go to the infirmary and get me some gauze, some water, any type of painkillers you can find, burn medicine, and some fever reducer?"

The tiny girl nodded and dashed off to go get what she needed. She really looked like she needed that gash on her forehead checked on. A wave of exhaustion fell over me. My eyelids felt like they were being weighed down by the weight of the Kishin's madness. I was so tired. I needed to sleep. Just a little bit of rest…

"Whoa, Whoa," Ryuka lightly slapped my face and forced my eyes back open, "You stay awake until I get you all fixed up."

I weakly smiled, "Since when do you know about anything medical?"

A small laugh danced from her mouth, "Since my father is a doctor. I've watched him work ever since I was little," She look some burn cream from the pile that Silver had brought in, "This is going to sting a little."

Her hands began to massage the paste into my skin. It stung at first, but then the burning feeling began to melt away. I sighed, "That feels so much better."

She smiled and then began to bandage down gauze pads on my skin. Her cool hands ran smoothly over my body as she sealed the last bandage. She pulled my head up and held a cup to my mouth, "Swallow, It's medicine, it's make you sleep, but it'll bring your fever down and pull the pain away."

I swallowed and lay my head back down. She pulled off her coat and placed it over my chest. She smiled and ran her fingers to brush my hair out of my eyes. She turned to stand, but I grabbed her mangled sleeve to keep her from standing. I gave her a hazy smile and locked eyes with her, "Hey, don't leave me yet."

"Spirit," She brushed her hair behind her ear, "I have to go check on Azusa."

"Please don't," I said, "Just stay with me. Just until I fall asleep."

"Alright," She said before sitting down beside me, "Just until your asleep."

I smiled and relaxed as she began run her light fingers through my hair. Then I drifted into the state of sleep.

Sanguine's POV

**Two Hours Earlier**

The two of us lay sprawled in the floor of his tent. My hair stuck to my bare back. I felt Stein's cool fingers glide through my hair as I rested my head on his bare chest. The sensation was indescribable, not awkward like the first time. I loved the feeling of skin on skin. Our bodies intertwined.

I let out a breath and pulled my head up off of his chest, "Stein?"

He gave me a small smile and met my eyes, "Yeah, Sanguine?"

"I don't think that we should tell anyone about this," I sighed before rolling off of him, "about the sex. Just now."

"It's not like I was planning on telling, but why do you want to keep it a secret?"

"Because," I crawled through the dark tent on my hands and knees hunting for my clothes, "I don't want people thinking that we're going to be some lovey-dovey couple who can't leave one another's side. I just want us to be Stitches and Blood. The way it was back when we were still in school. I want to be by your side, Stitches. I just don't want everyone poking their noses where they aren't wanted."

A smirk followed by a short laugh escaped from his lips, "I can respect that."

I found my panties and Stein's shirt. I slid into my underwear before tossing his shirt in his direction and earning a pleasing groan when the shirt smacked him in the face. I soon found the rest of my clothes and then helped Stein locate his glasses (Nearly stepping on them in the process, I kid you not). After we were both fully clothed, the two of us sat on the floor of his tent.

"You know, Sanguine," Stein's voice glided smoothly through the air, drawing my attention to him. He pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it, taking in a puff before twirling it in his fingers, "Life will never be the same after all of this is over. The world is changing, faster than what we can keep up with," He let out a breath of smoke and then looked up at the ceiling, "We're changing."

I took a handful of sand in my palms and felt it slowly begin to slip through my fingers, "I know that, Stein," I whispered in a quiet voice as the sand slid from my palm, "But I don't want they way we feel right now to ever change," I paused before grabbing Stein's cigarette and crushing it in my fingers, "Except for that. No smoke."

He laughed before looking at me with a small smirk, "And just what do you have against my cigarettes?"

"Nothing," I said, looking down and suppressing a laugh.

"That's a lie Sanguine," He said pressing his forehead to mine, "You've been stomping out my cigarettes since I started smoking sixteen years ago."

"Well," I said, relaxing at his hold on my chin, "I just don't like them. They make you smell off. Your tongue tastes weird."

"And when we were eighteen, how did you know what my tongue tasted like?" he asked before we both laughed in a harmonizing sound.

**Present Time**

My feet pounded on the shaken hallway floors of the DWMA. The entire school looked as if a tornado had run through it. Not to mention the huge hole that was in the side of the school now. I felt the madness wavelength fly through the air. Stein dashed behind me and Marie walked with Chrona about fifty feet back. We turned sharp corner in the direction of the Death Room. But was then stopped dead in our tracks.

The hole looked a whole lot bigger in here than it had from outside. Spirit lay to one side of the room with his chest bandaged and Ryuka's coat covering him up. Azusa, whose leg had been put into a splint, rested propped up against the wall, eyes shut with sweat lining her brows. Silver sat down next to Spirit, running her tiny fingers through his hair. There was a set of butterfly closures lining a cut on her forehead. Then I spotted Ryuka. She knelt on both knees next to a large pile of black. Stein and I glanced at one another before slowly approaching her trembling body.

I sat a hand on her shoulder and then realized what the pile of black was. It was Lord Death. Tears flew from her eyes as she turned to face me. Then she threw her arms around me, that is, before she saw Stein.

"D-DAD!" She cried before jumping into Stein's arms, "Y-you're okay!" Then her body racked with sobs, "I-I can't fix it…I don't know how but…" She sobbed as she clung to Stein.

"Here," He bent down and looked over the mangled Shinigami, "I think that, this'll help." Stein pushed and IV of some sort of black liquid into the Shinigami's remaining arm.

"Dad?" Ryuka looked at him in mild confusion as the tears stopped flowing, "Where is your coat?"

Then a familiar pinkette trudged into the room with Marie at his side to keep him supported on his own wobbling legs. He clutched Stein's coat to his body as he shivered, his skinny frame shaking.

"Chrona!" Ryuka smiled and pulled him into a gentle hug, "Ms. Marie!" She the hugged Marie as well, obviously happy to see us all.

"Um, Ryuka?" I asked, "Where's three stripes? And what the hell went down in here?"

"The Kishin happened," a familiar red head said, sitting up with a tremendous amount of effort.

"Spirit, you shouldn't be moving around like that," Ryuka insisted, lightly placing her hands on his very burnt shoulders. That's when I noticed what her wounds looked like. Her shirt was ripped halfway from her body. Her shoulders were heavily burned. A huge bruise rested on her cheek bone. And scrapes and scratches covered her neck.

"Ryuka," Stein stepped behind her, lightly pulling her back into his arms, "How about we listen to what Spirit has to say. And you sit down for a little while and let me heal you."

Death the Kid's POV

"Black*Star, we're losing ground!" I shouted to him from the opposite side of the Kishin. Liz and Patty were in Death Canon form on either one of my hands. I kept them both pointed at the Demon God.

"When you say that you're losing ground," His voice was smooth as silk with the sharpest twinge of insanity, "You make it sound as if you had actually gained some, when in truth, you haven't."

I looked over my shoulder at Maka, who held Soul's unconscious body in her arms, "Maka!" She looked up at me, eyes wide, "Do what you have to." She nodded, tears jamming into her eyes. She then leaned forward and pressed her forehead to Soul's.

"Black*Star!" I looked over at him, "Cover me and then follow my lead. I'm going to give it everything I've got."

"No."

"What?" I asked turning and looking at the assassin with the eyes of a madman.

"Here's what's gonna happen," Black*Star said, crossing one leg over the other and resting his weight on his sword as if it were a cane, "I'll cover you and you can do what you want, but only AFTER my attack."

I felt my teeth grit together, "Okay fine, just cover me will you?" I asked, anger edging in my voice.

"Sure thing!" He shouted, flipping into the air, "Good old Black*Star's got you covered!"

I rolled my eyes as the assassin charged at the demon. I felt the power of the magnitudes of both of the Death Cannons surge through me. I felt the three of our souls began expand. Power danced electrifyingly through each of my weapons. I locked my targeting on the demon and a tremendous blast rang through the air.

I landed on my back with a thud. Letting out a breath. My eyes screwed shut. I felt something light fall onto my forehead. I felt Liz and Patty transform back into human form.

"Kid! KID!" Patty laughed in excitement, "Open your eyes and look!"

"Come on Kid!" Liz let loose a small giggle and brushed some of the soft material from my forehead, "Look!"

"Ung," I groaned sitting up and forcing my eyes open. The sky was pure blue, souls floating up towards the sky. White ashes fell from the sky.

"SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!" Patty sang out in delight as she pranced through the white ash. Tsubaki looked up at the sky with a pleasant smile on her face as the ashes brushed over her smooth skin. Black*Star laughed and was going on about how great he was. Maka helped Soul stand. He smirked up at the ash before saying, "That's cool."

"Kid!" I heard a shout from above, "Kid!"

I looked up to reveal Ryuka and Silver standing at the edge of the Death Room with my father behind the two of them in his mangled, but breathing, state.

"Hey, Kiddo!" He shouted, waving from the edge of the hole in the wall.

A large smile grew onto my face. He was still alive. My father had made it!

"KID!" Ryuka smiled from her place above, "YOU DID IT!"

I smiled and willed Beelzebub to form beneath my feet. I then kicked up off the ground and launched towards the school. The second I got into the Death Room she flung her arms around me, hugging my body tight to hers.

"Kid, I love you," She said, clinging to me. I noticed how her shoulders and neck were bandaged and a large bruise blossoming on her face.

"I know. I love you too," I smiled, weaving my fingers into her hair.

Then her lips pressed to mine, soft and moving against my own. She dug her fingers up into my raven hair. I held the side of her face with one hand and held her around her waist with my other. We eventually parted, breathing heavily.

"Please," she sighed against me, "Don't ever leave me again."

"Don't worry," I kissed her forehead, "I won't"

A/N: I'm so so so SO sorry about updating so late! I had horrible writer's blocks and had to really think about this. ONLY ONE CHAPTER LEFT! IT'LL BE THE EPILOUGE! I want reviews please! I love all of my readers and I also met my goal of over 100 reviews! I made cookies that night! ^^ So, Review this for me and look forward to the next chapter, because it will not take near as long to write that one as it took to write this one. See you all in the next (and last) chapter!


	26. Epilogue

Epilogue

Ryuka's POV

"I'm Coming!" I shouted as I ran through the swirling grey mist. I was trying to run through the dark graveyard, commonly known as hook cemetery, but legs felt heavier than lead, making it feel like I were running in slow-motion.

I heard his scream rip through the night again. I forced my body forward with all of my strength. A cackle raged through the graveyard, making my brain rattle. That laugh had been haunting me for what seemed like an eternity.

"GREY!" My Call rang out through the air like silver church bells on a Sunday morning. I could feel my insides tremble as I continues to run in search of my long lost partner. I could here his heavy breathing. His scent of freshly mowed grass and apples perfumed the dark swirling fog that served as the air. I cut sharp corner and slid to a stop, falling my knees when I saw him.

He crept across the ground, his face struggling to stay up. His timber wolf hair hung down into his black eyes. I ran my fingers through his slightly dampened hair, causing him to look up, "Hey, Cross."

"Grey," I smiled, tears leaking form my eyes as if someone were trying to turn of a it water faucet, "It's good to see you," Then I kissed him, full on the mouth, "My god, feels great to see you."

Then I made the mistake of looking up. Towering over us was the demon god himself. The Kishin. I tightened my grip on Grey, eyes narrowing at the beast before me. I felt Grey's harsh cough. Blood ruptured from his throat, sending it in a staining across my white nightgown.

He looked up at me, meeting my tearful eyes. A small smile played onto his face, "I love you," he croaked. A tear fell from my eyes and onto his face. I brushed his hair from his face with my fingertips.

"I love you," I said in a whisper, my voice barely audible. Then Grey crumbled into a pile of sand in my arms, "N-No!" I felt more tears stream out of my eyes.

I looked back up to see the Kishin standing over me, holding Silver up by the throat. I felt my heart stop.

"Put her down," I growled, standing up. The demon cocked his head to the side, an insane smile on his face, "You bastard! I said to _put my daughter down_!"

"Ryuka…" Silver whined out, "Mom…"

Then the demon wrapped his fingers tighter around her throat.

Silver coughed, clutching at the demons hands.

"PUT HER DOWN!" I cried, tears flowing senselessly down my face.

I bolt upright in bed, sweat soaking my nightgown. I was sobbing as I pulled my knees up to my chest. My god, these nightmares were getting worse every night. I shivered and clutched the sheets beside me.

"Ryuka?" Kid sat up beside me, "Ryuka, what's wrong?" I felt his strong arms wrap around me, pulling me up close to his pale chest. I held onto him, continuing to sob.

"Grey…the Kishin…Silver…" I said between sobs.

"It was another nightmare, wasn't it?" He asked, holding me even closer. I felt his fingers weave into my sweat soaked hair, "Ryuka, it's okay. I promise, you're alright. I'm here. Right here," he cradled my body close to his. I hugged his bare chest, "We killed the Kishin six months ago. He can't hurt you anymore. Grey passed away nine months ago. He isn't going to be hurt by anything ever again. Silver is asleep in the next room over. She's safe and sound. You have nothing to worry about, okay?" He wiped my eyes with his fingertips.

I nodded and loosened my grip on his body, "I'm better now."

He smiled and kissed my forehead, "Good. Do you think you can go back to sleep now?" he asked, keeping his loose hold on me.

I nodded once again, and lie down, keeping myself within his arms, "but only if you keep your hold on me. I want to stay like this," I felt my eyelids begin to droop, "It makes me feel safe."

"But of course," He said, placing a delicate kiss on the back of my neck, "I'll stay like this with you.

**KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**

"Um, ow, Kid! Ow, Ryuka!" Liz called from the other side of the door, "Ow. Ow. Ow! Please wake up!"

**KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**

The two of us sat up in bed. Kid climbed out of bed and opened the door a crack, "Liz, it's the middle of the night. What is it?"

"K-Kid, It's," her voice sounded pained, "the baby."

"Oh, god!" I got up out of bed, "Liz, did your water break?"

She took a breath before nodding her head.

"Okay," I sat my hand on her arm, "Everything is going to be fine, lets go get you on a bed. Kid, can you grab my phone for me?" I said over my shoulder as I let Liz lean on me so I could assist her into the spare bedroom next to ours.

"Ryuka," Liz panted as I sat her down gentle on the bed, "It hurts."

"I know," I said, pushing her hair out of her eyes, "I just need you to try to relax and breathe for me. Okay? I'm going to call my father right now. He'll be here soon."

"Okay," she said in a whimper as she began to take in even breaths. I took my phone from Kid and took a step towards the door.

"Hold her hand and stay here," I said, placing a smooth kiss on his lips, "I'll be right back."

Stein's POV

"Stein…"

I gave Sanguine a smirk before sliding her jeans the rest of the way off. Now she only wore her bra and panties beneath me. She smiled and tugged my t-shirt off and over my head, raking her nails down my chest. I ground out a moan. Then I ran my hands down the curves of her body, stopping at her waist so that I could keep her still. I felt her hands work their way down to my jeans. She undid the button and tugged the zipper down.

_Bzzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzz._

Sanguine looked up at me and then to the nightstand. My phone vibrated across the gray-stitched tabletop. I felt my brows slant down in annoyance, "Ignore that."

She laughed before plunging her fingers into my hair. I slid my fingers beneath the lining of her bra and ran them over all her sensitive places, earning a moan from her. At least we had made it to the bed this time. The past few times, one or the both of us had gotten too ambitious and we ended up doing it on the floor.

_Bzzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzz. _

She met my eyes again. I glanced over to the phone, "Ignore it. We're busy right now, after all."

She laughed again. I lowered my head down to the lining of her panties and bit into the waistband. I began to slowly tug them off. She shifted beneath me, indicating that she wanted me to get on with it.

_Bzzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzz._

"Damn it!" I growled under my breath as I brought my head up and grabbed the phone before pressing the talk button and holding it up to my ear, "What _is it, _Ryuka? We're kind of in the middle of something."

"Dad, Liz's water just broke and- wait, 'we're'?"

"Yes! Me and your mom were just about to-"

"Gross! Dad!" she whined from the other end, "I don't want to know about what you and mom were doing! I don't tell you what Kid and I do!"

"And just what do you and Three Stripes do!"

"Okay, Dad, Not the point. The point is that Liz's water broke and the baby is coming. So if you two could be so kind to stop whatever your doing and get your asses over here _now _it would be greatly appreciated."

"Yeah, Yeah," I pulled my shirt up off the floor, "We'll be right there." I pressed the end call button and tugged my shirt on over my head.

"Stein, what is it?" Sanguine asked, sitting up and pulling her panties back on before finding her jeans and slipping them on as well.

I smirked and did up the button and zipper of my jeans, "Liz's water just broke," I picked my coat up off the ground, "we get to go deliver her baby."

"Oh, joy," she said, pulling her skin tight Hinder spaghetti strap top, "The one time we manage to make it to the freaking bed, and we don't even get to finish."

I slid her coat onto her shoulders, "I'll just have to unwrap you when we get back."

"Oh, whatever, Stitches," she said with a smirk, "You're going to have to earn that privilege back before I let you get anything from me," she lit a cigarette and placed it between her teeth. Yes, believe it or not, I had gotten Sanguine off of my case on smoking. It's because I kinda got her started on it. Oh, I praise the power if nicotine.

"Let's go, Stein," she sighed, walking towards the door, "I just wanna get this over with."

Death The Kid's POV

"Kid! It hurts!" Liz cried out as she gripped my fingers so tight that they began to turn purple.

"Liz, it's a contraction, you have to breathe and let it happen. Come on, you can do it," I took a wet cloth and wiped her forehead.

"Hey," Ryuka pushed open the door, "How's she doing?"

" 'It hurts,'" I said, looking over my shoulder at my fiancé, "That's all I've really heard. She's having contractions about every five minutes."

"Well my dad's on the way here," she said shutting the door behind her.

"Good," Liz sighed from her place on the bed, relaxing slightly, "God, let her out."

"You still think it's a girl, huh?" I asked, giving her a reassuring smile. Liz had been like a sister to me ever since she became my partner a little over five years ago. Now, the feeling was mutual between the two of us.

"Yeah, it's definitely a girl," she smiled at sat her hand on her stomach, "I can tell."

I placed my hand over hers, "Everything is going to be fine."

"Liz," Ryuka said walking towards the end of the bed, "I need to check on how dilated you are."

"Alright," Liz nodded and spread her legs.

Ryuka crossed to the end of the bed and lifted Liz's nightgown and took a breath before sliding off her panties. She studied for a second and then her head came back up, "Liz, how long have you been having contractions?"

"I'd been feeling pains before I went to bed," she closed her eyes, "I just thought that she was getting a little antsy. I woke up feeling like I was going to be sick. So I went to the bathroom and my water broke. So I came and got you. So I suppose about seven hours."

"You're at about nine centimeters," she said, her brows slanted down, "That means we've got about half an hour."

"Half an hour?" Liz's eyes widened.

"Maybe a little less," Ryuka said, "It depends on how fast time makes things happen." Then the doorbell rang. Ryuka stood and crossed the room, "That's my father. I'll be back in just a minute. Okay, Liz?"

"Yeah," she leaned her head back on the pillow, "I'll be here."

I heard the door click shut and Ryuka's footsteps going down the stairs, "Is everything alright, Liz?"

She gave my hand a light squeeze and met my eyes with a weak smile, "It's just that, I'm a little scared that's all."

"Hey," I brushed her light brown hair out of her eyes, "You both are going to be just fine."

"Thanks, Ki-AH!" Her grip tightened to the point of pain, my finger's resuming to the purple that they had been only a few minutes ago.

"Contraction?" I asked, incasing her gripping hand in both of my own. I felt my brows begin to knit together. I hated seeing her like this, but it wouldn't last forever. She met my eyes and nodded her head, breathing in short breaths. She continued at this for about forty-five seconds before she relaxed. They were getting closer together. Three minutes apart maybe.

"Alright," Ryuka, Sanguine, and Stein walked in the door, "Liz," Stein walked close to the end of the bed, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a million bucks," she said with a smile, resting her head on her pillow, "Thanks for asking."

A smirk played onto Stein's face, "Nice to know your sense of humor is still intact," he walked to the end of the bed, "Can I see?" Liz nodded and spread her legs.

Stein's brows slanted down as he examined her lower region. After nearly a full minute, he brought his head back up, "How far apart are the contractions coming?"

Liz relaxed her sweaty hand between my palms, "A bit under three min-" she sucked in a breath and immediately tightened her grip on my hand.

"Two minutes," I said, giving her a reassuring squeeze and wiping her forehead with a cloth. Liz then let out a breath, and set her head back on the pillow.

"Alright, Liz," Stein met her desperate eyes, "I'm going to need you to push on the next contraction."

"You need me to _what?"_ Liz asked, eyes widening in terror.

I held onto her hand, "Liz, Liz look at me," I met her distressed blue eyes and sat a hand on her shoulder, "Everything is going to be fine. You just need to do what Dr. Stein says, okay?"

She nodded, and clutched Sanguine's hand on her other side. Ryuka sat a gentle hand on her thigh and smiled, letting her know that we were here.

"Okay, Liz," Stein gave her a kind smile, "Let's do this."

Liz gave him a weak smile and tightened her grip on my hand.

"Push!"

Liz's POV

_I have so much. I have Kid, who's like a younger to me. I have my baby, who is yet to be born. I have Ryuka, who is just right for Kid. I've got Silver, and had Grey. I've got Patty and Maka and just about everyone else from the academy. Until now, I don't think that I've realized that I have so much. So, I think that now, of all of the times in my life, would be a bad place to stop. A bad place to give up on life. Because if I did, I would lose all that I've got._

"Liz?" a familiar tiny voice called from beside me. I forced my eyes open, the sunlight streamed in, nearly blinding me. I felt a tiny hand on mine, "Liz?"

"Silver?" I met her soft black eyes as she looked at me with a smile on her face, "Hey, Sweetie."

"Hi, Liz," Silver sat down on my bed next to me, "How do you feel?"

My eyes widened. I bolt upright and looked around, ignoring the spinning in my head, "Where's my baby?"

"She's right here Liz," I looked over at the door to see Ryuka standing there with a bundle of white cloth in her arms. Ryuka took a step through the door.

"C-Can I hold her?" I asked, stretching out my arms.

"First," Ryuka sat a hand on my shoulder, "I need you to lean back and prop yourself up against the wall. Then I'll let you hold her."

"Okay," I sighed. She took her hand off of my shoulder and allowed me to prop my body up against the wall, "I'm all set."

She smiled and placed the small bundle in my arms, "Careful. Hold up her head."

I smiled, "I've got her," I held my daughter close to my chest. I felt tiny tears began to hook to the brims of my eyes, "She's so beautiful," I ran my fingers over her tiny head. Her small tan head was covered with the beginning down of her soft timber wolf hair. I smiled and kissed the top of her head, "Lori."

"That's a beautiful name. Lori Thompson."

"Lori Night," I felt a tear run down my face, "I want her to have his last name," I looked at the baby and then back to Ryuka, "Thank you, Ryuka"

She stopped at the door and looked over her shoulder at me, "Your welcome, Liz." And then she stepped out into the hallway.

Ryuka's POV

I closed the door behind me and wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. Lori looked so much like him. So much like Grey. My partner. I felt a few tears slide down my cheeks. I still miss you after all this time. How long until this goes away? This feeling of the welling up in my chest. So many things that I want to say. So many things…

"Ryuka?" I felt Kid's arms encircle my waist. I relaxed at his hold, "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I wiped my eyes, "I was just thinking. That's all."

"You did great this morning," he said, placing a kiss on my cheek, "Your getting better with your medical."

"Thanks," I smiled. I had been studying in the medical field with my father for the past six months. Ever since the Kishin fell, I had decided what path I wanted to go with. I wanted to save people.

"You want me to go make some breakfast?" He asked, meeting my eyes.

I smiled and spun around, heading towards the stairs with his hand in mine, "Let's go make something together. I'm pretty sure That Liz is going to be hungry as well."

_**PLEASE READ MY NOTE THIS TIME IF YOU DON'T NORMALLY! IT CONTIAINS VERY VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION!**_

A/N: Wow. I can't believe that I did that. I finished it. I feel like I've just accomplished something so great. And I absolutely COULD NOT have done this without all of my readers and reviewers and just all of you guys. And I am just so grateful to all of you, because without the support you all have given me, I don't think that I would have made it to the end of this. So thank you. ALL of you. Secondly, I've received quite a few comments telling me how you don't want this story to end. Well, I have some news that may uplift you. There is going to be a sequel to this story. I hadn't originally anticipated for a sequel, but it seems right now that I've made it this far. The first chapter will be up very very soon. It will be called When The Scars Run Deeper. You will find more information on it once I begin posting on it, because I like to leave some things at a surprise. I would greatly appreciate reviews for this final chapter in Her Scars. I want to know what everyone thought of this. I want to know what you guys liked best, what could've been different, what was the most romantic scene, what made you laugh, what made you cry. Just Everything. I love you all so much and will SEE YOU IN THE NEXT STORY! PLEASE READ ON!

~Love,

Tsukiko-Chama


End file.
